UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

THE  SLOSS  COLLECTION  OE  THE  SEMITIC  LIBKAUY 
OE  THE  IMVERSITV  OF  CALIEOKMA. 

GIFT  OH 

LOUIS  SLOSS. 

February.  1897. 

Accession  No.  ^^^3  •     CL^^^^  No. 

-  1 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/bookofjobOOparkrich 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE 


DISCOURSES  UPON  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


BY 

JOSEPH    PARKER,    D.D., 

Minister  of  the  City  Temple,  Holborn  Viaduct,  London; 

AUTHOR   OF   "eCCE  DEUS,"   "  THE  PARACLETE,"    "  THE  PRIESTHOOD  OF   CHRIST, 

"SPRINGDALE   ABBEY,"    "  THE   INNER   LIFE   OF  CHRIST,"    '*  AD   CLERUM," 

"THB   ark    of    god,"    "apostolic   LIFE,"   "  TYNE  CHYLDH," 

**  WEAVER  STEPHEN,"   "EVERY   MORNING," 

ETC.,   ETC. 


VOL.  XI. 
THE    BOOK    OF    JOB, 


iraW  YORK: 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS,  Publisheks, 

18  AND  20  AsTOR  Place. 

1889. 


-^ 


r 


^^4^ 


CONTENTS 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB— 

INTRODUCTORY 
SATAN   AT   WORK      . 
THE   ASSAULTS    OF    SATAN 
THE   TRIAL   OF   JOB 

THE   ARGUMENT   OF    ELIPHAZ. 1. 

THE   ARGUMENT   OF   ELIPHAZ. — II. 
job's   ANSWER   TO    ELIPHAZ 
THE   FIRST   SPEECH   OF   BILDAD 
job's   answer   TO    BILDAD. — I. 
job's   answer   to    BILDAD. — II. 
THE   first    speech   OF   ZOPHAR. — I. 
THE    FIRST    SPEECH    OF   ZOPHAR. — II. 
THE    FIRST    SPEECH    OF   ZOPHAR. III. 

job's  reply  to  his  three  friends. — L 
job's  reply  to  his  three  friends. — IL 
job's  reply  to  his  three  friends. — in. 
job's  reply  to  his  three  friends. IV. 


PAGE 

I 
6 

15 

22 

30 

39 

48 
56 
65 

73 

81 
90 

98 

106 

"5 
"3 

131 


iv  CONTENTS, 

THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  (continued)-- 

PAGB 

job's  reply  to  his  three  friends. — V.      •       •       .139 

THE   SECOND   SPEECH   OF   ELIPHAZ 147 

MISERABLE  COMFORTERS.            .           •           .           ,           .           .  156 

COMFORTERS   AND    FLATTERERS          •           •           .           •            .  163 

THE   SECOND   SPEECH   OF   BILDAD 1 72 

-^  job's   REPLY  TO   THE   SECOND   SPEECH   OF   BILDAD     .            .  180 

AN  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS. — I.  .  .  188 
AN  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS. — II.  .  .197 
THE   PROFITABLENESS   OF   RELIGION             .           .           .           .205 

THE   LAST    SPEECH    OF   ELIPHAZ 2l6 

RECONCILIATION   AND    RESULTS 225 

job's    review   of   THE    CONTROVERSY       ....  235 

MAN    DESIRING  GOD .  244 

MORAL  ANTIQUITY 255 

QUIET    RESTING-PLACES 263 

WHAT   IS   WISDOM?.  .  •  .  .  .  .  .272 

SUNNY   MEMORIES 282 

CHANGES   OF    FORTUNE 29 T 

job's   RETROSPECT   AND    PROTEST 302 

ENDED   WORDS $10 

THE   SPEECH   OF   ELIHU. — 1 319 

THE   SPEECH   OF   ELIHU. — II 329 

THE   SPEECH   OF   ELIHU. — III •           .  339 

THE   SPEECH   OF   ELIHU. — IV 350 

THE   KNOWN   AND   THE  UNKNOWN    .           .           .           .           .  358 


CONTENTS. 


THE    BOOK    OF  JOB    {continued)^ 

^THE   TjaEOEANY:— 


'^ 


Job,  chapter  xxxviii.   {pith  Annotations) 

"'  ^'*  n  ft 
xli.               „              ,, 


THE   THEOPHANY, — I.         •  ,  . 

THE   THEOPHANY. II.       .  .  . 

THE   THEOPHANY,    AS   A   WHOLE 

AFTER   THE   STORM. 

THE   EXALTATION   AND    DEATH   OF  JOB 


rAGB 

366 
368 
370 
371 

374 

382 

391 
398 
407 


«HANDFULS   OF   PURPOSE"— 

A   CALL   TO    PERSONAL    SACRIFICE 

".Thus  did  Job  coatimia.ly."     (Job  i.  5.) 

THE  GREAT   PUZZLE   OF   METAPHYSICAL  LIFE 

"  Whence  comest  thou  ?  "     (Job  i.  7.) 


MESSENGERS  AND  MESSAGES       ...... 

"  And  there  came  a  messenger  unto  Job."     (Job  i.  14.) 


THE  POTENCY  OF  SILENCE  ..... 

"...  none  spake  a  word  unto  him.**    (Job  ii.  13.) 


EXAMPLE   BETTER  THAN  PRECEPT         •,.... 

"...  it  touched  thee  and  thou  art  troubled."     (Job  iv.  5.) 


SPIRITUAL  COMMUNICATIONS     ...... 

"  Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brought  to  me."    (Job  iv.  12.) 


THE   FOOLISH   TAKING   ROOT  ....... 

"  I  have  seen  the  foolish  taking  root."     (Job  v.  3.) 

THE  WISE  AND  THE  CRAFTY     ...,.,• 

"He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness."     (Job  v.  13.) 


417 
418 
418 
419 
420 
421 
422 
424 


CONTENTS. 


"HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE"  {continued)^ 

PAGE 
AN    APPOINTED   TIME   TO    MAN    .  .  .  .  .  .  •4^4 

"  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  full  age."     (Job  v.  26.) 

THE    DISCIPLINE    OF    REVERSES     .  .  .  .  .  •  •        4^5 

'The  things  that  my  soul  refused  to  touch  are  as  my  sorrow- 
ful meat."     (Job  vi.  7.) 

CONCERNING    ERRORS        .  .  .  ...  .  .  .        4^6 

"...    cause   me   to   understand    wherein   I   have   erred.** 
(Job  vi.  24.) 

SPEAKING   IN   ANGUISH     .  ,  .  .  .  .  •  .427 

"  I  will  speak  in  the  anguish  of  my  spirit."     (Job  vii.  1 1.) 

THE   RESULT   OF   LONELINESS     .  .  •  »  •  •  ,428 

"  Let  me  alone."     (Job  vii.  i6.) 

SPIRITUAL   TRAINING        ,  .  .  .  .  •  •  .428 

"Though  thy  beginning  was  small,  yet  thy  latter  end  shall 
greatly  increase."     (Job  viii.  7.) 

SELF-JUSTIFICATION    AND    SELF-CONDEMNATION       .  .  ,  .429 

"If  I  justify  myself,  mine  own  mouth  shall  condemn  me." 
(Job  ix.  20.) 

fHE  CREATOR  THE  REDEEMER      ......   43O 

"Thine  hands  have  made  me  and  fashioned  me  together 
round  about ;  yet  thou  dost  destroy  me."    (Job  x.  8.) 

A  SERIOUS   FACT.  ....••••       43I 

"  I  am  full  of  confusion."     (Job  x.  15.) 

ASPIRATION   AND   LIMITATION    .  .  .  .  ,  ,  .       43I 

"It  is  as  high  as  heaven;  what  canst  thou  do ?"  (Job  xi.  8. 

INFERIORITY  AND  SUPERIORITY  ,  .  .  •  '  •  ,432 

"  I  am  not  inferior  to  you."    (Job  xii.  3.) 

SECRETS   OF  LIEE.  ,         '     ,  .  ,  ,  ^       ^^3 

".  .  .  the  soul  of  every  living  thing."     (Job  xii.  lo.) 

DIVINE  VISITATION  •••••.,,        434 

"He  .  .  .  maketh  the  judges  fools."     (Job  xii.  17.) 

THE    PLACE  OF  SAFETY     ........        435 

"  He  maketh  them  to  stagger  like  a  drunken  man."     (Job 
xii.  25.) 


CONTENTS.  vii 

*  HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE"  {continued)--  ^^^^ 

CONCERNING   THE   SINS   OF  YOUTH  .  .  .  .  •  •435 

"Thou  .  .  .  makest   me   to   possess   the   iniquities  of  my 
youth."     (Job  xiii.  26.) 

MITIGATIONS    OF   TROUBLE  .  .  •  •  •  •  •437 

"...  full  of  trouble."     (Job  xiv.  I.) 

AN   ENQUIRY    AND  A   VERDICT  .  .  .  •  .  •  •       43*^ 

"Who   can  bring  a  clean   thing  out  of  an  unclean?  not 
one."     (Job  xiv.  4.) 

HUMBLING   QUESTIONS     .  .  .  .  .  •  •  '43° 

"  Art  thou  the  first  man  that  was  bom  ?  "     (Job  xv.  7.) 

'^THE  WORDS   OF  JESUS        ...  *  .  .  •  •       439 

"  I  have  heard  many  such  things."     (Job  xvi.  2.) 

DAILY   CONFLICT    .........       44® 

"God  hath   delivered  me  to  tne  ungodly,  and  turned  me 
over  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked."    (Job.  xvi.  il.) 

THE  BREVITY  OF  LIFE       ....••••       44' 

"  When  a  few  years  are  come."    (Job  xvi.  22.) 

COMPENSATIONS  IN   AFFLICTIONS  ......       442 

"Mine  eye  also  is  dim  by  reason  of  sorrow,  and  all  my 
members  are  as  a  shadow."     (Job  xviL  7.) 

FRIENDS  AND   FRIENDLESSNESS  .  .  .  .  •  •       443 

"  My  familiar  friends  have  forgotten  me."     (Job  xix.  14.) 

ON   TAKING   ROOT    .......  .  . 

"  Why  persecute  we  him,  seeing  the  root  of  the  matter  is 
found  in  me  ?  "     (Job  xix.  28.) 

A  PHILOSOPHICAL   QUESTION      .....  .  .       445 

"How  can  he  be  clean  that  is  bom  of  a  woman?"    (Job 
XXV.  4.) 

PRAYER  A   DELIGHT  ..•••...       44$ 

"  Will  he  always  call  upon  God  ?  *     (Job  xxviL  la) 

THE   BLESSEDNESS  OF  SERVICE  .  .  .  •  •  •       446 

"  I  was  eyes  to  the  blind."     (Job  xxix.  15.) 


viii  CONTENTS, 

"HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE"  {continued)—  ^^^^ 

MORAL  MYSTERIES  ........       447 

"Did  not  I  weep  for  him  that  was  in  trouble  ?  was  not  my 
soul  grieved  for  the  poor?  When  I  looked  for  good, 
then  evil  came  unto  me :  and  when  I  waited  for  light, 
there  came  darkness."     (Job  xxx.  25,  26.) 


THE  DISTINCTIVENESS   OF  THE   BIBLE  ...... 

",    ,    .    an    interpreter,  one    among  a  thousand."      (Job 
xxxiii.  23.) 


448 


ON  CHRISTIAN   UNITY       ........       449 

"Let    us  know  among    ourselves  what   is  good."      (Job 
xxxiv.  4.) 

CONCERNING  KINGS   AND   PRINCES         ......       449 

"  Is  it  fit  to  say  to  a  king,  Thou  art  wicked  ?  and  to  princes, 
Ye  are  ungodly?"     (Job  xxxiv.  18.) 

INDEX •         •         •     451 


•^^  Of  ¥a!>"*^J^ 


THE    BOOK    OF   JOB. 


I  HAVE  sometimes  most  clearly  seen  the  whole 
tragedy  of  Job  in  a  waking  dream,  the  whole  passing 
before  me  in  twilight  shadows,  losing  itself  in  thick 
darkness,  reappearing  in  light  like  the  dawn,  always 
changing,  always  solemn,  always  instructive :  a  thing  that 
surely  happened,  because  a  thing  now  happening  in  all 
the  substance  of  its  eternal  meaning. 

Is  it  a  pillar  grand  in  height,  and  finished  all  over 
with  the  dainty  care  of  an  artist  whose  life  has  been 
spent  in  learning  and  applying  the  art  of  colour  ?  How 
stately !  How  heaven-seeking  because  heaven-worthy ! 
Whilst  I  admire,  I  wonder  religiously.  I  see  the  hosts  of 
darkness  gathering  around  the  erewhile  flashing  capital, 
and  resting  over  it  like  midnight  sevenfold  in  blackness  ; 
then  the  lightning  gleams  from  the  centre  of  the  gloom, 
then  the  fire-bolt  flies  forth  and  smites  the  coronal  once 
so  glorious,  and  dashes  it  in  hot  dust  to  the  earth,  and 
the  tall  stalk  so  upright,  so  delicate,  so  like  a  well-trained 
life,  reels,  totters,  falls  in  an  infinite  crash !  Is  it  true  ? 
Every  word  of  it  1  True  now — may  be  true  in  thee  and 
me,  O  man,  so  assured  of  stability  and  immovable- 
ness.  There  is  danger  in  high  places.  Is  there  a  Spirit 
which  hates  all  noble-mindedness  and  seeks  to  level  the 
spiritual  pile  with  mean  things  ?  Evil  Spirit !  The  very 
Devil,  hating  all  goodness  because  hating  God !  But 
stop.  After  all,  who  smote  the  pillar  ?  Whose  lightning 
was  used  to  overthrow  the  fair  masonry  ?  O  God  of 
gods,    the    devil's    Creator    and    Master,    without    whom 

VOL.  XL  Z 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


Satan  could  not  be,  nor  hell,  nor  trees  forbidden,  nor 
blast  of  death, — O  Mystery  of  Being, — what  can  our 
souls  say  in  their  groaning,  and  how  through  anguish 
so  intolerable  can  they  pray  ?  I  am  afraid  to  build, 
because  the  higher  the  tower  the  deadlier  the  fall.  Dost 
thou  watch  our  rising  towers  and  delight  to  rain  thy 
fire  upon  them,  lest  our  pride  should  abound  and  our 
damnation  be  aggravated  by  our  vanity  ?  And  God's 
own  Book  it  is  that  tells  the  good  man's  .pain,  and  revels 
in  swelling  rhetoric  over  the  rottenness  and  despair  of 
the  man  who  feared  God  and  eschewed  evil !  And  what 
unguided  hands,  if  hands  unguided,  set  the  tale  of 
wrong  and  woe  and  sorrow  next  to  the  very  Psalter  ? 
Is  not  the  irony  immoral  because  cruel  ?  Or  is  there 
meaning  in  all  this  ?  Is  it  life's  story  down  to  the  very 
letter  and  jot  of  reality  ?  How  better  to  come  out  of  the 
valley  than  to  the  harping  and  song  of  musicians  who 
have  known  the  way  of  the  Almighty  and  tasted  the 
counsels  of  heaven  !  Cheer  thee,  O  poor  soul  I  thou  art 
to-day  miserable  as  Job,  but  to-morrow  thou  mayest  dance 
to  the  music  of  David, — to-morrow  thou  mayest  have  a 
harp  of  thine  own  I 

A  tree  of  the  Lord's  right  hand  planting  arises  loftily 
and  broadly  in  the  warm  air.  Birds  twitter  and  sing  as 
they  flit  through  its  warp  and  woof  of  light  and  shade 
— a  tree  whose  leaves  might  heal  the  nations.  What 
sudden  wind  makes  it  writhe?  What  spirit  torments 
every  branch  and  leaf?  What  demon  yells  in  triumph 
as  the  firm  trunk  splits  and  falls  in  twain  ?  Was  it 
grown  for  such  a  fate  as  this  ?  Better  if  the  seed  had 
been  crushed  and  thrown  into  the  fire,  than  that  it  should 
have  been  thus  reared  and  perfected  and  then  put  to 
shame  amongst  the  trees  of  the  field. 

Who  can  give  speech  to  this  flood  as  it  plunges  from 
rock  to  rock  in  the  black  night-time  ?  Hush !  There 
is  a  man's  voice  in  the  infinite  storm : — **  Let  the  day 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 


perish  in  which  I  was  born  :  let  it  be  darkness ;  let  that 
night  be  joyless,  let  no  song  enter  into  it  ;  let  them  who 
curse  the  day  stigmatise  it  who  are  ready  to  stir  up  the 
leviathan  ;  why  died  I  not  from  the  womb  ?  then  had  I 
lain  down  and  been  quiet  ;  I  had  slept ;  .  .  .  there  the 
wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  there  the  wearied 
mighty  rest ;  the  prisoners  sweetly  repose  together,  they 
hear  not  the  voice  of  the  exactor,  and  the  slave  is  free 
from  his  lord."  These  are  human  words,  but  are  they 
not  too  strong,  too  rhetorical  to  be  true  ?  No  ;  for  who 
can  mechanise  the  rhetoric  of  woe  ?  "  Why  is  life  given 
to  the  miserable,  and  to  one  who  would  be  blithe  to  find 
a  grave  ?  I  have  no  quiet,  no  repose,  for  trouble  on 
trouble  came,  and  my  sighs  gush  out  like  waters  long 
dammed  back."  No  doubt  the  rhetoric  is  lofty,  yet  with 
a  strange  familiarity  it  touches  with  happy  expressive- 
ness all  that  is  most  vivid  in  our  own  remembrance  of 
woe.  "  I  loathe  my  life  :  I  will  give  loose  to  my  com- 
plaint :  I  will  speak  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul  :  to 
God  I  will  say,  Condemn  me  not,  show  me  why  thou 
contendest  with  me.  As  the  clay  thou  hast  fashioned 
me,  and  to  dust  thou  causest  me  to  return  :  thou  hast 
poured  me  as  milk  and  compacted  me  as  cheese.  As 
a  fierce  lion  thou  huntest  me,  then  thou  turnest  again 
and  showest  thyself  marvellous."  Job  has  found  fit  words 
for  all  mourning  souls  ;  so  they  borrow  of  him  when  their 
own  words  fail  like  a  stream  which  the  sun  has  dried  up. 
What  woe  the  poor  little  heart  can  feel !  Herein  is  its 
greatness  ;  it  is  in  its  own  way  as  the  heart  of  God. 
"  Truly,  now,  he  hath  worn  me  out :  thou  hast  made 
all  my  household  desolate,  and  thou  hast  shrivelled  me 
up.  God  giveth  me  up  to  the  ungodly,  and  flingeth  me 
over  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked.  He  seized  me  by  the 
throat  and  shook  me.  He  breacheth  me  with  breach  on 
breach.     He  rusheth  on  me  like  a  man  of  war." 

In  what  good  man's  sick  chamber  is  not  Job  welcome  ? 
Welcome  because  he  can  utter  the  whole  gamut  of  human 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE 


woe  ?  He  can  find  words  for  the  heart  that  is  ill  at  ease, 
and  prayers  for  lips  which  have  been  chilled  and  silenced 
by  unbelief.  His  woe  belongs  to  the  whole  world.  All 
other  woe  is  as  the  dripping  of  an  icicle  compared  with 
the  rush  of  stormy  waters.  "  Even  to-day  is  my  com- 
plaint bitter ;  my  hand  is  heavy  because  of  my  sighing. 
Behold  I  go  forward,  but  he  is  not  discernible ;  and 
backward,  but  I  perceive  him  not  ;  on  the  left  hand  in 
his  operations  I  perceive  him,  but  I  comprehend  him 
not ;   on  the  right    hand   he   is    veiled,   and  I    see   him 


Let  us  now  go  into  the  tragedy  in  detail.  We  may 
learn  how  to  bear  the  ills  we  cannot  escape.  We  may 
answer  the  apparently  unanswerable  question  of  Lear : — 

"  Poor  naked  wretches,  wheresoe'er  you  are, 
That  bide  the  pelting  of  this  pitiless  storm, 
How  shall  your  houseless  heads,  and  unfed  sides. 
Your  loop'd  and  window' d  raggedness,  defend  you 
From  seasons  such  as  these  ? ' ' 


'  of  tas 

f;i'HITBr.2!TT; 


PRAYER. 

Lord  Jesus,  we  pray  thee  to  continue  to  heal  on  the  Sabbath  day,  the  day 
was  made  for  healing  :  we  are  healed  by  its  calm  ;  the  spirit  of  peace  is  the 
spirit  of  that  holy  time.  May  our  hearts  be  tranquil  with  God's  peace; 
may  Sabbath  dawn  upon  the  weariest  heart;  may  all  lives  know  that  this 
is  the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made,  and  may  we  be  full  of  gladness 
durirg  its  golden  hours.  Is  not  this  a  little  of  heaven  sent  down  to  earth  ? 
Is  not  this  the  entrance  to  eternity?  Thou  knowest  what  the  week  is, 
with  all  its  six  days'  roughness  and  tumult,  disappointment,  misery,  mocking 
unrest,  painted  triumph;  yet  thou  hast  set  us  in  the  battle,  and  thou  art 
watching  the  fight ;  thou  art  training  us  by  contention,  and  making  us 
pure  by  well-accepted  controversy.  May  nothing  of  thy  purpose  be  lost 
because  of  the  blinding  details  of  the  conflict ;  may  we  lay  to  our  hearts  the 
solemn  truth  that  thou  dost  mean  to  make  us  men ;  by  loss  or  gain,  by 
sunshine  or  shadow,  by  laughter  or  by  tears,  thou  wilt  make  us  men.  This 
thou  didst  mean  from  eternity;  when  the  Lamb  was  slain  there,  and  when 
all  thy  purpose  of  love  was  written  in  thy  book,  it  was  that  we  might 
become  perfect  men  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  the 
very  reflection  of  thy  glory.  If  we  can  keep  this  in  mind,  then  labour  is 
rest,  every  day  is  Sabbath  day,  and  every  woe  comes  to  make  us  purer 
souls.  But  we  so  soon  lose  the  thought,  and  wander  away  into  idle  dream 
and  pointless  speculation,  and  vex  ourselves  with  questions  and  mystery 
which  can  never  be  solved.  Would  God  we  were  wiser,  simpler,  truer  to 
the  divine  purpose  of  life  !  then  should  the  summer  come  sooner,  and  the 
golden  harvest,  and  thou  shouldst  have  satisfaction  in  our  fruitfulness. 
When  we  confess  our  sin  we  take  hope  again :  if  we  never  confessed  we 
never  could  hope ;  to  know  ourselves  to  be  sinners  is  to  begin  to  feel  after 
the  cross,  to  ask  questions  at  Calvary,  to  put  serious  inquiries  to  our  souls. 
Help  us  to  feel  the  burden  of  sin,  that  we  may  feel  the  gospel  of  mercy. 
Save  us  from  indifference,  callousness,  all  manner  of  carelessness  regarding 
the  altar,  the  truth,  and  the  destiny  of  men ;  quicken  us  that  we  may  ask 
thee  questions  respecting  ourselves,  and  consult  thee  with  regard  to  this 
gnawing  worm,  this  unquenchable  fire,  this  perdition  of  sin.  For  all  thy 
lovingkindness  how  can  we  praise  thee  in  hymns  sweet  enough?  Thy 
compassions  are  new  every  morning,  are  conceived  on  purpose  for  us,  are 
earlier  upon  the  earth  than  the  dew  is ;.  thy  faithfulness  continueth  every 
evening,  it  is  out  among  the  earliest  stars,  nay,  it  leads  the  host  and  brings 
them  forth.  How  good  is  God  1  Thy  goodness  draws  forth  our  tears,  and 
stops  our  speech  with  the  emotion  of  thankfulness.  Where  thou  art  most 
needed  thou  wilt  be  most  present  The  Lord  hear  us  at  the  Saviour's 
cross,  tree  of  sacrifice,  tree  of  blood,  the  altar-tree,  where  no  man  ever 
prayed  and  was  then  sent  away  empty.     Amen. 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobi. 


Chapter  1. 
SATAN  AT  WORK. 

WHEN  we  read  that  "  there  was  a  man  in  the  land  of  Uz, 
whose  name  was  Job,"  we  are  to  understand  a  noble, 
coaspicuous,  influential,  and  altogether  unique  man.  The  nar- 
rator is  not  pointing  to  any  man, — a  dramatic  shadow,  a  figure 
which  he  intends  to  use  for  dramatic  purposes ;  he  is  indicating 
the  greatest  man  in  the  society  to  which  that  man  belongs — say 
a  typical  man,  the  best  specimen  of  humanity,  altogether  the 
finest,  completest,  strongest  man.  It  is  well  to  understand  this, 
because  if  there  is  to  be  any  great  contest  as  between  human 
nature  and  malign  powers,  we  should  like  it  to  be  as  equal 
as  possible.  We  should  feel  a  sense  of  discontentment  were  the 
devil  to  challenge  some  puny  creature — a  man  known  only  for 
his  meanness  and  weakness.  On  the  other  hand,  we  feel  that 
the  conditions  are  admirable  as  to  their  proportions  and  com- 
pleteness, and  the  best,  strongest,  purest  man  is  chosen  to 
represent  human  nature  in  the  tremendous  contest.  That  is  the 
case  in  the  present  instance.     Read  the  character — 

"That  man  was  perfect  and  upright,  and  one  that  feared  God,  and 
eschewed  evil  '*  (v.  i). 

This  is  a  complete  character.  What  more  could  be  added  ? 
What  need  for  further  vision  of  God,  or  supply  of  grace,  or 
miracle  of  progress  ?  Have  we  any  character  equal  to  Job's,  as 
thus  described,  in  the  New  Testament  ?  Even  if  Job  be  but  a 
dramatic  personage,  the  Old  Testament  is  not  afraid  to  have  such 
a  man  represented  upon  its  pages.  But  we  must  not  stop  at 
that  point ;  Otherwise  we  should  come  to  false  conclusions  respect- 
ing the  growth  of  character  under  Old  Testament  conditions. 
The  Old  Testament  makes  its  men  more  rapidly  than  the  New 
Testament  does  ;  and  we  are  not  to  take  back  the  New  Testament 
by  which  to  judge  the  men  of  the  Old  Testament.  If  men  do 
not  grow  so  rapidly  in  the  gospels  and  epistles,  it  is  because  the 
spirit  of  moral  criticism  has  changed,  has  become  more  searching, 
has  looked  for  fuller  and  wider  results,  has  penetrated  beyond 
and  beneath  the  surface,  and  asked  questions  about  motive, 
purpose,  inmost  thought.     Here,  however,  in  Old  Testament  life, 


JobL]  SATAN  AT  WORK,  7 

and  under  Old  Testament  conditions,  is  the  completest  man  of  his 
day.    What  can  he  do  with  Satan  ?    What  can  Satan  do  with  him  ? 

Not  only  was  the  personal  character  complete,  but  the  sur- 
roundings were  marked  by  great  prosperity,  affluence,  all  but 
boundless  resources,  as  resources  were  reckoned  in  Oriental 
countries, 

"  His  [Job's]  substance  also  was  seven  thousand  sheep,  and  three  thousand 
camels,  and  five  hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  and  five  hundred  she  asses,  and  a 
very  great  household  "  (v.  3). 

Who  could  get  at  him  ?  You  must  knock  at  a  hundred  gates 
before  you  can  present  yourself  before  the  presence  of  this  king. 
Circle  after  circle  concentrically  surrounds,  environs,  protects 
him.  He  is  within  at  the  very  centre  of  all  circles.  We  have  to 
leap  over  tower  after  tower  before  we  come  to  the  tower  of  brass, 
solid,  seamless,  within  which  he  is  entrenched  and  concealed. 

Not  only  have  we  a  complete  personal  character,  a  great  sub- 
stantial fortune,  but  there  is  in  this  mysterious  man  a  priestly 
feeling.     The  father  of  the  family  was  then  the  priest  of  the 
household.     His  sons  and  daughters  were  social;  they  grasped 
one  another  with  the  hand  of  love ;  they  exchanged  liberally  all 
the  courtesies  which  make  up  much  of  the  happiness  of  social 
life.     The   father   was  not  amongst  them;   he  was  away,   but 
still  looking  on.     He  said :  It  may  be  that  in  all  their  feasting 
and  enjoyment  my  sons  have  sinned,  and  have  misunderstood 
God  in  their  hearts ;  therefore,  I  will  arise  early  in  the  morning 
and  ofifer  sacrifices  on  their  account.     Although  this  is  now  done 
away  ceremonially  and  literally,  yet  there  abides  the  priestliness 
of  fatherhood   and   motherhood — that   strange,    never-perfectly- 
described  feeling,  which  says.  There  is  yet  something  to  be  done 
about  the  children  :  they  are  good  children,  their  fine  qualities  it 
is  impossible  to  deny,  but  human  nature  is  human  nature  after 
all,  and  another  prayer  for  them  may  do  good.     That  prayer 
may  never   be  offered   in  words,  it  may   be   offered   in  sighs, 
in   wordless   aspirations,    in   the    strange,    never-to-be-reported 
language  of  the  heart.     Yet,  still,  there  is  the  fact,  that  in  every 
true  heart  there  is  a  priestly  instinct  that  cannot   be  satisfied 
until  it  has  remembered  in  prayer  some  that  may  have  strayed, 
and   others   that   may  need    special  vision  of  light  and  special 


8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  Qobi. 

communication  of  grace.  "  Pray  without  ceasing/'  Pray  often. 
'*  In  everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  let 
your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God."  And  the  God  of  peace 
shall  fill  your  hearts  with  eternal  Sabbath  day. 

So  far,  then,  we  are  reading  a  noble  poem.  Were  the  state- 
ment to  end  with  the  first  five  verses,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
match  the  paragraph  by  aught  so  rich  in  spiritual  quality,  so 
noble  in  personal  character,  so  sweet,  teftder,  and  friendly  in 
social  feeling  and  exchange  of  love.  But  where  does  life's 
chapter  end  ?  An  end  it  seems  not  to  have.  Life  would  rather 
appear  to  be  all  beginnings,  new  attempts,  new  mornings,  new 
endeavours,  new  resolutions,  and  the  end  is  always  far  off, 
making  great  promises,  and  exercising  a  wondrous  influence  in 
life  by  its  allurement  and  beckoning  and  promise  of  rest.  It  is 
in  this  way  that  posterity  does  much  for  us,  notwithstanding  the 
ignorant  gibe  concerning  it.  The  end  makes  us  do  what  we 
attempt  in  the  present.  We  cannot  work  for  the  past.  If  we 
work  at  all,  it  must  be  for  the  future,  for,  blessed  be  God,  things 
are  so  shaped  and  set  together  that  no  man  liveth  unto  himself, 
or  can  so  live :  even  while  he  attempts  that  miracle  he  fails  in  its 
execution,  and  does  good  where  no  good  was  intended.  No 
credit  to  him.  It  will  not  be  set  down  to  his  credit  in  the  books. 
Still,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  even  the  bad  man  cannot  spend  his 
money  without  doing  good  in  many  unintended  ways.  Where, 
then,  we  repeat,  does  life's  chapter  end?  Certainly  it  does 
not  end  in  the  case  of  Job  by  a  description  of  his  personal 
character  and  his  social  status. 

In  the  sixth  verse  we  come  upon  the  inevitable  temptation. 
Every  man,  woman,  and  child  has  got  to  have  a  face-to-face 
interview  with  the  devil.  Adam  was  not  tempted  for  all  the 
race.  He  but  symbolised  the  tragic  and  awful  fact  that  every 
man  is  led  up  into  the  Eden  of  his  time  to  be  tried,  tested,  pierced, 
assaulted,  and  put  to  extremities,  so  that  he  may  be  revealed  to 
himself.  That  is  the  great  difficulty — namely,  the  difficulty  of 
self-revelation ;  because  a  man  seeing  s^ome  other  man  do  a 
wickedness  stands  back  and  says  he  could  not  have  done  that; 
whereas  he  could  have  done  it  every  whit,  with  just  as  red  a 


JobL]  SA7AN  AT  WORK.  9 

colour,  and  just  as  black  an  infamy,  whatever  it  was — the  murder 
by  Cain,  the  treachery  committed  by  Jacob,  the  kiss  inflicted  by 
Iscariot.     So  every  man  must  be  revealed  to  himself,  and  made 
to  feel  that  his  heart — not  some  other  man's  heart — is  deceitful 
above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked.     The  devil  could  not 
rest.     He  must  go  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  walk  up  and  down 
in  it,  so  long  as  there  is  one  good  man  upon  it     It  is  the  good 
man  that  adds  another  flame  to  the  devil's  hell.     He  does  not 
care    about   indifferent    characters,    doubting    minds,    wavering 
faiths;   men    who    are   orthodox    to-day,   heretical    to-morrow, 
speculative  on  the  third  day,  and  immoral  all   the  time  :  they 
occasion  him  no  anxiety,  they  are  all  well  chained,  and  the  chain 
is  well  fastened  in  the  pit.     But  a  really  good  man — a  veritable 
Job — must  be  the  devil's  vexation.     He  must  be  a  mystery  to 
the  Satanic  mind.     Nor  can  the  devil  afford  to  let  him  alone. 
One  Job  will  do  more  harm  to  bad  policies  and  bad  spiritualities 
than  a  thousand  nominally  professing  good  men  could  ever  do. 
Job  will  be  looked  at,  estimated,  talked  about ;  people  will  say. 
Here  is  concrete  goodness,  real,  sound  character,  and  the  kind 
of  faculty  that  gets  hold  of  all   the  worlds  that  are  good,  and 
represents   all   sides   of  life   quite   radiantly  and   fascinatingly. 
"Whence  comest  thou,"  black   fiend,  spirit  of  night,   demon? 
'^  From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up  and 
down  in  it," — it  is  my  earth,  my  estate,  my  hunting-ground :  as 
yet  I  have  only  scorched  it;    I  want  to  burn  it  through  and 
through.     Why  not  sit  down  ?     I  cannot  I     Why  not  ?     Because 
there  is  a  man  upon  it  that  I  want  to  ruin.     Here  is  no  poetic 
strain,  no  dramatic  exaggeration,  no  colour  put  in  merely  for  the 
sake  of  literary  effect :  this  is  strong,  sound  reason,  broad  and 
deep  philosophy,  an  unchangeable  reality  in  moral  economies : 
the  bad  cannot  rest  while  the  good  are  within  sight,  and  the  good 
cannot  escape  the  last   temptation,  the   fieriest   assault   of  the 
enemy.     A  marvellous  power  is  the  power  of  goodness :  bad 
men  are  afraid  of  it ;  no  heart  that  has  in  it  a  wicked  scheme 
dare  so  much  as  come  before  a  good  man  and  say — My  scheme 
is  thus,  and  so,  and  such :  will  you  join  me  in  it  ?     Dishonesty 
fears  honesty.     This  is  the  power  of  the  good  over  the  evil — the 
restraining  power,  the  refining  power,  and  the  elevating  power, 
as  to  its  social  effects.     Do  we  give  the  enemy  any  trouble? 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job I 


When  he  hears  our  prayers  is  he  alarmed,  saying,  Verily  they 
are  growing  in  grace  :  they  daily  get  one  inch  nearer  heaven  :  on 
the  third  day  they  will  be  perfected,  and  seize  the  very  city,  and 
take  it  by  the  violence  of  love  ?  Or  does  he  say,  The  prayers 
are  going  down  in  quality :  they  have  now  descended  to  mere 
talk :  there  is  no  blood  in  them,  no  sacrifice,  no  atonement 
kindred  according  to  its  own  capacity  with  the  atonement  wrought 
by  the  Son  of  God  :  these  are  not  prayers  ?  If  so,  he  will  not 
be  troubled  by  our  presence,  though  we  be  a  million  strong  and 
rich  with  all  earth's  gold  mines.  It  is  character  that  the  devil 
fears — solid,  pure,  noble,  brilliant  character, — just  as  good  at  the 
core  as  it  is  on  the  surface ;  solid  in  its  cubic  completeness  and 
reality  of  goodness. 

But  Job  was  misunderstood  by  the  devil,  who  said.  This  is  a 
question  of  circumstances  :  if  I  could  take  away  his  seven  thou- 
sand sheep,  he  would  be  less  religious ;  if  I  could  break  in  upon 
the  five  hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  he  would  begin  to  whimper  and 
whine  like  a  common  man ;  if  his  balance  at  the  next  reckoning 
should  be  in  three  figures  instead  of  five,  he  would  forget  to  pray 
that  night :  this  is  how  I  must  assail  him ;  I  shall  never  get  at 
this  man  through  his  principles,  I  must  get  at  him  through  his 
property, — that  is  my  policy.  There  was  the  fatal  misunder- 
standing of  the  man.  Being  misunderstood,  Job  was  also  under- 
estimated. Who  can  tell  the  good  man's  full  measure  of  strength  ? 
He  is  a  man  of  many  resources.  We  read  of  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ,  and  there  is  a  sense  in  which  every  Christian  is 
endowed  with  those  riches,  so  that  being  impoverished  at  one 
point  he  is  as  wealthy  as  ever  at  all  other  points  :  he  can  overget 
all  distress  and  all  loss.  It  is  interesting  to  hear  a  being  from 
another  world  talk.  Here  the  devil  gives  us  his  description  of 
Job's  position.  It  will  be  intensely  interesting  to  hear  how  the 
position  of  a  man  can  be  described  by  an  infernal  spirit.  What 
he  says  can  be  rendered  into  our  mother-tongue.  We  do  not 
sufficiently  consider  that  it  is  a  devil  who  is  made  to  speak  in 
one  instance,  or  an  angel  in  another;  we  take  it  as  if  devil  and 
angel  were  natives  of  the  same  clime  with  ourselves,  and  had 
undergone  the  same  schooling,  and  had  used  the  same  words, 
with  the  same  colour  and  weight  of  emphasis.     Nothing  of  the 


Jobi.]  SA2AN  AT  WORK.  ii 

kind.  These  people  are  speaking  a  foreign  tongue;  yet  they 
speak  it  as  with  a  native  accent  Hear  the  devil  upon  the 
position  and  security  of  Job : 

"  Hast  not  thou  made  an  hedge  about  him,  and  about  his  house,  and  about 
all  that  he  hath  on  every  side  ?  Thou  hast  blessed  the  work  of  his  hands, 
and  his  substance  is  increased  in  the  land  "  (v.  lo). 

He  reads  like  a  surveyor;  he  peruses  a  memorandum,  and 
gives  out  the  facts  in  literal  lines.  "Hast  not  thou  made  an 
hedge  about  him  ?  "  I  have  walked  round  that  hedge ;  I  have 
tried  it  here,  there,  and  at  seven  other  places ;  I  have  gone  round 
it  in  summer  arid  winter,  in  spring  and  autumn,  by  night  and  by 
day,  when  the  snow  was  on  the  ground  and  when  the  sun  was 
in  full  summer  heat,  and  the  hedge  is  round  about  him  with  the 
solidity  of  iron ;  and  not  about  him  only,  but  "  about  his  house, 
and  about  all  that  he  hath  on  every  side  " — every  sheep,  every 
camel,  every  ox,  every  ass  seems  to  be  hedged  about,  so  that 
I  cannot  strike  one  of  them  :  I  have  no  chance ;  thou  hast  shut 
me  out  from  opportunity  in  regard  to  this  man :  give  me  the 
opportunity,  and  I  will  bring  his  piety  to  ruin — "  put  forth  thine 
hand  now,  and  touch  all  that  he  hath,  and  he  will  curse  thee  to 
thy  face  "  (v.  ii).  The  devil  did  not  speak  without  reason.  He 
is  sometimes  forced  to  facts.  He  could  have  substantiated  this 
declaration  by  countless  instances ;  he  could  have  said,  I  have 
overthrown  kings  before  to-day ;  I  have  seen  the  effect  of  poverty, 
loss,  pain,  distress,  exile,  upon  some  men  who  had  quite  as  good 
an  appearance  as  Job  has  :  their  piety  has  gone  after  their 
property :  they  no  sooner  were  thrown  down  socially  than  they 
were  unclothed  religiously,  and  were  proved  to  be,  practically,  at 
least,  hypocrites :  I  want  to  see  the  same  plan  tried  upon  Job ; 
it  has  succeeded  in  cases  innumerable — it  cannot  but  succeed  here. 
But  the  point  now  immediately  under  consideration  is  the  devil's 
estimate  of  the  good  man's  position,  and  the  devil  says  the  good 
man  is  hedged  about ;  he  is  protected  on  every  side ;  all  that  he 
has  excites  the  interest  of  heaven ;  there  is  not  a  sheep  in  the 
flock  that  God  does  not  account  as  of  value.  This  is  real.  This 
is  the  very  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ  himself,  who  says.  The  very 
hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.  Do  we  realise  this  to  be 
our  happy  condition  ?  We  do  not  As  Christian  men  and 
women  we  are  just  as  fretful,  anxious,  and   dispirited,  in  the 


12  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [JobL 


presence  of  cloud  and  threatening,  as  are  our  worldliest  neigh- 
bours. If  that  is  not  true  in  some  instances,  let  us  bless  God  for 
the  miraculous  exceptions ;  but  wherein  it  is  true  we  affirm  the 
devil's  estimate  of  our  supposed  security :  it  is  a  security  which 
believes  in  black  ink  letters,  in  actual  and  positive  property, 
and  is  not  a  security  which  rests  in  spiritual  promise  of  spiritual 
protection. 

This  incident  destroys  the  idea  that  environment  can  keep 
away  temptation.  How  often  have  we  said  to  ourselves,  If  our 
circumstances  were  better,  our  religion  would  be  stronger ;  thus 
men  tell  lies  to  their  own  souls;  thus  men  degrade  life  into  a 
question  of  surrounding  and  circumstance  and  condition ;  thus 
men  say  that  *'  fat  sorrow  is  better  than  lean  " ;  and  thus  men  add 
up  the  worldly  conditions  of  assaulted  life,  and  say.  With  such 
conditions  the  assault  really  amounts  to  nothing.  All  spiritual 
history  declares  against  that  sophistical  doctrine.  Every  man  has 
his  own  battle  to  fight.  Job  had  a  deadlier  battle  to  conduct  than 
we  can  have,  because  he  was  a  stronger  man ;  there  was  more  in 
him  and  about  him ;  he  exhibited,  so  to  say,  a  larger  field,  and 
was  therefore  accessible  at  a  greater  number  of  points.  We  think 
of  royalty  in  its  palace,  see  itself  upon  the  throne,  and  saying,  What 
can  reach  me  here  ?  I  am  safe  beyond  the  touch  of  temptation. 
We  think  of  great  influence,  as  of  statesmen  and  rulers,  and  we 
suppose  that  if  we  were  as  elevated  as  they  are  we  should  be  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  devil's  arrow.  Sometimes  we  think  of  great 
genius,  of  the  marvellous  minds  that  can  create  worlds  and  destroy 
them,  and  recreate  them,  and  dramatise  the  very  air,  and  populate 
it  with  images  that  shine  and  talk,  that  dazzle  and  amuse  the 
very  men  who  created  them ;  and  we  say,  Such  genius  can  know 
nothing  of  temptation ;  only  those  who  are  in  sordid  conditions, 
driven  down  to  the  dust  to  find  to-morrow's  bread,  men  doomed 
to  daily  grinding, — only  they  can  know  what  temptation  is  and 
pain  and  sorrow.  Such  is  not  the  case.  No  palace  can  shut  out 
temptation ;  no  high  authority  or  rulership  can  escape  the  blast  of 
hell ;  and  as  for  genius,  it  seems  to  be  the  very  sport  of  infernal 
agency.  Environment,  then,  is  no  protection  against  temptation. 
What  is  the  protection  ?  There  is  none :  every  man  must  be 
tempted,  every  Adam  must  fall,  every  Adam  must  eat  of  the 


JobL]  SATAN  AT  WORK,  13 

forbidden  tree ;  one  after  the  other,  millions  in  a  day,  on  they  go, 
without  exception,  without  break :  "  Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of 
the  spirit  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil."  Cer- 
tainly. If  that  chapter  had  not  been  in  his  life,  the  life  would 
have  been  incomplete,  and  would  have  been  no  gospel  to  us :  we 
should  have  said,  The  reading  is  very  good,  but  it  is  like  the 
reading  of  a  poem,  or  the  perusal  of  a  musical  composition ;  we 
have  not  yet  come  to  the  hell-chapter,  the  devil-clutch,  the  fight 
with  him  who  overthrew  our  integrity,  and  chained  our  spirits  to 
his  chariot.  So  we  have  Christ's  temptation  written  in  plain  letters, 
the  whole  story  told  in  highly  accentuated  speech,  the  articulation 
distinct,  every  syllable  throbbing  with  life.  What  then  ?  Do  we 
rest  there,  and  say.  Behold  the  end  ?  Then  were  the  world  not 
worth  making,  then  had  the  Creator  committed  an  irretrievable 
mistake  :  this  is  not  the  end.  ^'  There  hath  no  temptation  taken 
you  but  such  as  is  common  to  man,"  and  with  every  temptation 
God  will  make  a  way  of  escape.  "  My  brethren,  count  it  all  joy 
when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations ;  knowing  this,  that  the  trying 
of  your  faith  worketh  patience  "  and  purity,  increase  of  faith  and 
increase  of  grace ;  and  the  temptation  may  become  the  root  of 
much  true  strength  and  joy. 

In  the  case  of  Job  the  internal  is  proved  to  be  greater  than  the 
external.  When  the  trials  came  one  after  another  like  shocks  of 
thunder,  '*  in  all  this  Job  sinned  not,  nor  charged  God  foolishly." 
But  did  he  speak  ?  That  is  the  point.  If  he  did  not,  perhaps  he 
was  dazed ;  he  felt  a  tremendous  blow  on  the  forehead,  and  reeled, 
and  was  not  in  a  condition  to  bear  witness  about  the  matter.  Ii 
he  said  anything  let  us  know  what  he  did  say.  Could  he  speak 
in  that  tremendous  crisis  ?  Yes,  he  spoke.  His  words  are  before 
us.  Like  a  wise  man  he  went  back  to  first  principles.  He  said. 
Circumstances  are  nothing;  they  are  temporary  arrangements; 
the  man  is  not  what  he  has  but  what  he  is ;  I  do  not  hold  my 
life  in  my  hands  saying.  It  weighs  so  much,  and  count  up  to  a 
high  number.  Job  went  back  to  first  principles,  to  elementary 
truths ;  he  said  : — 

"  Naked  came  I  out  of  "ly  mother's  womb,  and  naked  shall  I  return  thither 
[that  is  how  I  began] :  the  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  [as  he 
had  a  right  to  do ;  I  had  nothing  of  my  own]  ;  blcSsed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord"  (v.  21). 


14  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  QobL 


There  he  stands,  a  naked  man,  destitute,  childless,  friendless, 
practically  houseless,  without  property,  all  the  environment 
changed ;  and  now  that  all  the  walls  are  thrown  down  we  can 
see  the  more  clearly  how  the  man  kneels,  and  with  what  heart- 
eloquence  he  prays.  We  never  do  see  some  men  until  the  walls 
of  their  prosperity  are  thrown  down.  When  they  have  lost  all, 
then  they  begin  to  make  an  impression  upon  us.  Said  one  man, 
from  whom  every  penny  in  the  world  was  taken,  "  The  treasure 
is  all  gone,  but  I  have  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and 
that  fadeth  not  away."  He  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  a  man 
in  high  pulpit  position;  but  circumstances  were  against  him,  the 
events  of  the  day  impoverished  him ;  he  was  left  without  gold, 
silver,  copper,  chair  to  sit  upon,  bed  to  lie  upon,  book  to  read,  and 
in  that  condition  he  said,  in  our  own  country  and  in  our  own  time, 
*'  The  treasure  is  all  gone,  but  I  have  an  inheritance  that  cannot  be 
destroyed."  We  should  not  have  known  the  man  but  for  the 
circumstances  which  tested  him  and  revealed  him.  What  was  real 
in  his  case  is  possible  in  every  other  case.  "  A  man's  life  con- 
sisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth." 
The  more  things  we  have  the  better,  if  we  use  them  aright.  There 
is  no  crime  in  wealth.  There  is  no  iniquity  in  being  rich.  Blessed 
be  God,  there  are  men  who  are  rich  and  good, — abounding  in 
wealth,  and  yet  the  more  they  have  the  more  the  church  has,  the 
more  the  poor  have.  We  bless  God  for  them.  They  hold  their 
riches  with  a  steward's  faithfulness,  with  a  trustee's  fidelity.  Nor 
is  there  any  virtue  in  poverty.  A  man  is  not  a  saint  because  he 
has  no  clothes,  no  house,  no  fortune.  Nothing  of  the  kind.  All 
these  questions,  on  both  sides,  go  deeper,  go  right  into  the  spirit 
and  soul  and  heart  of  things,  and  "  as  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart, 
so  is  he."  Said  one  man,  "  I  have  nothing  except  that  which  I 
have  given  away."  His  meaning  was  that  at  last,  although 
fortune  had  been  heavy  against  him,  he  had  as  a  real  property, 
in  his  very  memory  and  soul,  every  farthing  he  had  ever  given  in 
the  cause  of  charity  :  they  could  never  be  taken  away  from  him. 
There  is  one  wealth  we  need  never  part  with,  one  substance  we 
may  keep  for  ever — in  health,  in  sickness,  in  summer,  in  winter, 
in  earth,  in  heaven,  in  time,  in  eternity,  and  that  substance  is  a 
spotless,  holy  character. 


Chapter  il. 

"  Touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he  will  curse  tl  ee  to  thy  face  "  (v.  5). 

THE  ASSAULTS  OP  SATAN. 

REMEMBER  that  the  man  spoken  about  is  "a  perfect  man 
and  an  upright,  one  that  feared  God  and  eschewed  evil." 
The  speaker  is  Satan,  who  came  with  the  sons  of  God  on  the  first 
occasion,  and  said,  "  Touch  all  that  Job  hath,  and  he  will  curse 
thee  to  thy  face."  He  was  allowed  to  touch  Job's  property,  and 
he  failed  in  his  purpose.  On  another  occasion  the  same  devil 
came  back  with  the  sons  of  God,  and  enlarged  his  proposition. 
He  said,  "  Touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he  will  curse  thee 
to  thy  face." 

We  are  fully  agreed  that  there  is  no  devil.  That  may  be  taken 
for  granted.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  believe  that  there  is  a 
devil,  and  for  this  reason.  Simply  because  there  is  nothing 
devilish,  therefore  how  can  we  believe  that  there  is  a  devil  ? 
Everybody  is  so  good,  everybody  is  so  honest ;  all  our  habits,  and 
practices,  and  customs  are  so  transparently  and  beautifully  moral, 
that  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  us  to  believe  that  there  is  a  devil. 
Why  do  we  speak  of  the  existence  of  the  devil  ?  Because  there 
is  so  much  devilishness.  The  best  way  to  prove  that  there  is 
no  devil  is  to  get  rid  of  the  devilishness.  When  we  have  cleansed 
that  out  of  the  way  we  shall  make  it  exceedingly  difficult  to 
believe  either  in  a  personal  or  an  impersonal  devil  But  when 
persons  are  so  dishonest,  so  quick  in  sharp  practice,  so  malign, 
so  cruel,  so  ready  to  take  advantage,  so  prepared  to  oppress  the 
weak  and  to  mislead  the  ignorant,  it  becomes  quite  easy  for  us 
to  believe  that  perhaps  there  is  a  devil  I 

In  this  incident  it  will  be  our  privilege  to  see  the  devil  twice 
wrong.     Here  is  a  man  called  Job  who  is  chosen  as  the  battlo- 


1 6  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobii. 

field.  In  all  lines  and  spheres  of  life  some  particular  persons 
are  called  upon  to  illustrate  universal  truths  and  confer  universal 
blessings.  It  is  necessarily  and  unchangeably  true  that  one  man 
must  die  for  the  people.  The  great  contest  before  us  is  God 
against  the  devil,  and  up  to  this  time  we  have  never  seen  that 
battle  so  sharply  defined.  We  have  always  felt  that  there  was 
a  contest  going  on,  but  we  never  saw  them  face  to  face,  hand 
against  hand,  mouth  against  mouth,  before.  It  will  be  interesting 
to  watch  the  encounter.  We  do  not  know  that  the  devil  has 
ever  made  this  high  challenge  before.  He  has  always  been 
walking  and  working  in  the  dark  :  he  has  been  moving  about 
stealthily^and  taking  advantage  where  he  could — but  we  are  not 
aware  that  he  has  ever  with  undisguised  audacity  actually 
challenged  the  Almighty  to  fight  it  out  in  one  particular  case. 
At  last  the  challenge  has  been  given ;  it  has  been  accepted,  Job 
is  the  battlefield,  and  on  the  result  will  depend  the  veracity  either 
of  God  or  of  the  devil.  But  what  of  Job  in  that  case  ?  had  he  no 
compensations?  was  it  all  battle,  and  suffering,  and  pain,  and 
humiliation  on  his  part?  Was  there  nothing  on  the  other  side? 
Does  God  simply  afflict  some  men  and  leave  them  with  their 
afiQictions — does  he  simply  gather  his  clouds  over  some  heads 
and  cause  them  to  discharge  their  pitiless  storms  without  setting 
the  rainbow  on  the  cloud-laden  sky  ?  It  is  easy  for  us  who  have 
endured  but  the  secondary  pains  and  ills  of  life  to  suggest  com- 
pensations to  those  who  are  our  leaders  in  suffering  and  our 
veterans  in  bearing  the  chastisements,  the  penalties,  and  visita- 
tions of  God.  Still,  it  is  surely  something  to  be  God's  proof-man, 
to  be  called  out  as  the  particular  man  on  whose  character,  intelli- 
gence, grace,  patience,  fortitude — great  results  are  staked.  Surely 
God  will  not  call  a  man  to  endure  all  the  devil  can  inflict  upon 
him  without  secretly  giving  that  man  sustenance,  and  at  the  end 
throwing  upon  his  devastated  life  a  fuller  and  gentler  light  than 
ever  has  illumined  its  yesterdays. 

That  is  the  view  which  we  should  take  of  our  afflictions ;  that 
is  to  say,  we  should  feel  that  perhaps  we  are  made  the  medium 
through  which  God  is  answering  the  devil's  challenge.  The 
devil  may  have  been  saying  to  the  Almighty  concerning  this  man 
or  that ;  "  Take  his  health  away,  take  his  trade  away,  touch  his 


JobiL]  THE  ASSAULTS  OF  SATAN,  17 

bone  and  his  flesh,  subtract  considerably  from  the  sum  total  of 
his  indulgences,  and  his  enjoyments,  and  then  he  will  curse  thee 
to  thy  face."  That  is  the  view  every  man  and  woman  should 
take  of  personal  sorrow  and  individual  trial.  The  devil  may 
have  said,  "Take  his  only  son  away,  and  thou  wilt  take  his 
religion  away,"  and  God  has  allowed  that  dear  boy  to  be  removed 
— how  dost  thou  bear  ?  There  are  great  stakes  pending  :  God  said, 
'*  He  will  bear  it  well,  with  the  grace  of  a  sanctified  hero."  The 
devil  said,  "He  will  burn  his  Bible  and  cast  down  his  family 
altar."  Who  is  right  ?  If  thou  art  bearing  that  heavy  loss  well, 
bowing  thy  poor  old  knees  at  the  same  altar,  and  saying,  with  a 
choking  in  thy  throat,  "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  thou  hast  enabled  God 
to  strike  the  devil  on  the  face.  The  Lord  help  thee  :  it  is  bitter 
suffering ;  there  is  a  hard  stress  upon  thy  poor  life ;  thou  needest 
all  the  grace  treasured  in  the  immeasurable  heart  of  Christ ;  but 
his  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee — draw  heavily  upon  it,  and  the 
more  thou  dost  yearn  for  that  healing  grace,  the  more  shall  it  be 
given  thee  to  overflow ;  it  cannot  be  given  to  satisfy. 

Could  Job  now  look  over  the  ages  that  have  been  healed  and 
comforted  by  his  example,  stimulated  to  bear  the  ills  of  life  by 
the  grateful  memory  of  his  invincible  patience,  surely  even  now 
in  heaven  he  would  be  taking  in  the  reward  of  his  long-continued 
and  noble  endurance  of  the  divine  visitation.  It  may  be  so  with 
thee,  poor  man,  poor  woman:  thou  dost  not  get  all  the  sweet 
now  :  this  shall  be  a  memory  to  thee  in  heaven,  long  ages  hence : 
the  wrestling  thou  hast  now  may  minister  to  thee  high  delight, 
keen  enjoyment,  rapture  pure  and  abiding.  Who  can  tell  when 
God's  rewards  end — who  will  venture  to  say,  "This  is  the 
measure  of  his  benediction?"  He  is  able  to  give  and  to  do 
exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think.  When, 
therefore,  persons  inquire  of  thee.  What  compensation  hast  thou  ? 
say,  "  It  is  given  by  instalments,  to-day,  to-morrow,  in  death, 
in  the  resurrection,  all  through  the  ages  of  eternity.  Ask  me 
thousands  of  ages  hence,  and  I  will  reply  to  thy  question  con- 
cerning compensation."  Life  is  not  limited  by  the  cradle  and 
the  tomb,  and  it  is  not  between  these  two  mean  and  near  points 
that  great  questions  are  to  be  discussed  or  determined. 

VOL.    XI.  8 


iS  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job  i. 

Job  has  been  read  by  countless  readers.  His,  of  course,  was  a 
public  trial,  a  tragedy  that  was  wrought  out  for  the  benefit  of  multi- 
tudes in  all  generations.  Nevertheless  it  is  literally  and  patheti- 
cally true  that  every  man,  the  very  obscurest,  has  his  readers, 
fewer  in  number  it  may  be,  but  equally  earnest  in  attention. 
Think  you  that  your  children  are  not  taking  notice  of  you,  seeing 
how  you  bear  your  temptations,  and  difficulties,  and  anxieties  ? 
Think  you  not  that  your  eldest  boy  is  kept  away  from  the  table 
of  the  Lord  because  you  are  as  atheistic  in  sorrow  as  ever 
Voltaire  was  ?  Do  you  know  that  your  daughter  hates  church 
because  her  pious  father  is  only  pious  in  the  three  summer 
months  of  the  year  ?  He  curls  under  the  cold  and  biting  wind 
as  much  as  any  mean  atheist  ever  did  :  therefore  the  girl  saith, 
"  He  is  a  sham  and  a  hypocrite — my  father  in  the  flesh — no 
relative  of  mine  in  the  spirit."  You  have  your  readers  :  the  little 
Bible  of  your  life  is  read  in  your  kitchen,  in  your  parlour,  in 
your  shop,  and  in  your  warehouse  ;  and  if  you  do  not  bear  your 
trials,  anxieties,  and  difficulties  with  a  Christian  chivalry  and 
heroism,  what  is  there  but  mockery  on  earth  and  laughter  in 
hell?  God  give  us  grace  to  bear  the  chastisement  nobly, 
serenely ;  bless  us  with  the  peace  which  passeth  understanding, 
with  the  quietness  kindred  to  the  calm  of  God ;  and  help  us  when 
death  is  in  the  house,  and  poverty  on  the  hearthstone,  and  when 
there  is  a  storm  blinding  the  one  poor  small  window  we  have, 
to  say,  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him.  If  I  perish 
I  will  pray,  and  perish  only  here."  That  is  Christianity — not 
some  clever  chatter  and  able  controversy  about  metaphysical 
points,  but  noble  temper,  high  behaviour,  faultless  constancy, 
invincible  fortitude  in  the  hour  of  trial  and  in  the  agony  of  pain. 

Let  us  give  the  devil  his  due.  We  admit  that  the  devil  had 
but  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  his  propositions  concerning 
Job  were  right.  He  did  not  speak  without  book.  He  had  at  his 
girdle  many  proofs  that  strong  men  had  fallen  under  his  stroke. 
The  devil,  therefore,  may  have  reasoned  that  if  so  many  had 
yielded  to  his  ministry.  Job,  the  mightiest  and  brightest  of  all, 
might  yield  as  well.  Why  might  he  not  ?  Name  his  victories — 
Adam,  Cain,  Saul,  and  a  hundred  others  was  he  not,  therefore, 
entitled  to  leaaou  inductively  from  a  very  considerable  basis  and 


Jobii.]  THE  ASSAULTS  OF  SA2AN,  19 

area  of  fact  that  Job  would  fall  too  ?  Where  was  he  wrong  ? 
He  was  wrong  in  supposing  that  Adam,  Cain,  or  Saul  were  godly 
men,  that  they  had  in  them  the  divine  and  imperishable  seed 
of  truth.  We  altogether  exaggerate  Adam.  What  was  he  ?  He 
never  was  a  boy — he  never  had  anybody  to  speak  to  up  to 
a  considerable  period  of  his  life — he  had  no  intellectual  friction, 
no  ambition,  no  opportunity  of  developing  and  growing  strong 
by  contest  and  antagonism.  He  was  innocent  in  a  negative  way  : 
he  had  done  nothing,  and  so  far  he  was  good  enough  — but  he  had 
to  be  tried  as  every  man  has  to  be  tried,  and  he  fell.  And  Saul, 
mighty  king  but  weak  in  heart,  he  was  not  a  godly  man.  The 
true  belief  of  the  sons  of  God  was  not  in  that  man,  and  therefore 
he  fell.  He  was  nominally  right — officially  right — called  out- 
wardly to  a  certain  position,  but  the  seed  of  God  was  not  in  him, 
and  where  the  seed  of  God  is  not  found  in  the  heart,  no  matter 
what  the  intelligence  may  be,  or  the  official  influence,  the  man 
must  fall. 

Now  the  devil  came  upon  a  distinctively  different  man :  he 
assailed  Job,  who  was  a  perfect  man  and  upright,  one  that  feared 
God  and  eschewed  evil — that  is  the  man  to  fight,  then.  If  the 
devil  conquers  there,  he  will  tear  the  heavens  to  pieces,  he  will 
break  up  the  throne  of  God,  he  will  disband  the  angels,  he  will 
scatter  the  baleful  fires  of  perdition  upon  the  walls  and  floors  of 
heaven's  city.  It  is,  therefore,  a  great  fight — it  is  a  critical  battle ; 
everything  depends  upon  the  issue,  for  God  has  given  permission 
to  assail  this  perfect  man,  and  therefore  he  has  put  perfectness 
of  character  to  the  test.  No  godly  man  has  ultimately  fallen. 
No  man  in  whom  is  the  seed  of  the  divine  life  can  fall  finally, 
for  he  hath  the  seed,  the  life,  the  Spirit  of  God  abiding  in  him. 
Slips  enough — alas  1  too  many.  Crimes  too  :  see  David,  see 
Peter,  for  appalling  proof.  P'alls  daily — though  he  fall  he  shall 
not  be  utterly  cast  down.  This  is  what  we  mean  by  the  final 
perseverance  of  the  saints  :  this  is  what  we  mean  by  the  triumph 
of  the  grace  of  God  in  a  poor  human  life.  No  man  knows  better 
than  the  true  child  of  the  Almighty  how  possible  it  is  to  sin  in 
thought,  in  word,  in  deed,  and  to  sin  daily,  yet  under  all  the  sin 
to  have  an  inextinguishable  love.  Whoever  has  the  true  root 
in  him  shall  be  found  at  last  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God.     Is 


20  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  l^obii. 


this  a  dangerous  doctrine  to  preach  ?  Only  because  all  doctrine 
is  dangerous  in  some  cases  and  in  some  circumstances ;  but  this 
is  our  joy,  our  strength,  our  hope  :  if  we  have  to  be  saved 
because  we  are  always  doing  the  right  thing  in  the  right  way, 
accomplishing  all  our  purposes,  fulfilling  all  our  duties — we 
never  shall  be  saved.  We  are  to-day  no  further  than  the  publican 
was  when  he  said,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  But  we 
know  that,  bad  as  we  are,  foul  with  many  crimes,  deep  in  the 
heart  is  love  to  Christ,  and  that  inexplicable  presence  in  the 
soul  of  divine  elements  and  divine  faculties  comes  up  through  all 
the  superincumbent  guilt,  and  shines  at  the  top  of  it  an  inex- 
tinguishable light 

Even  in  Job  himself  we  have  complaint  enough,  murmuring 
enough,  but  in  Job  we  have  the  true  life,  and  therefore  at  the 
last  he  is  more  than  conqueror.  In  this  case  we  see  really  all 
that  the  devil  can  do.  What  is  it  in  his  power,  as  given  by  God, 
to  inflict  ?  Bereavement,  poverty,  pain,  humiliation.  God  has 
given  him  these  four  great  dogs  to  set  upon  our  life  :  they  will 
bite  and  gnaw  us,  but  they  cannot  kill  the  true  child  of  God. 
The  devil  has  only  one  soHloquy :  his  is  really  the  poorest 
intellect  in  the  universe.  He  says,  "I  have  got  Job  on  my 
hands,  what  shall  I  do  ?  Let  me  see  :  I  will  kill  his  sons  and 
his  daughters,  and  will  take  away  his  flocks  and  his  herds,  and 
I  will  give  him  boils ;  I  will  cover  him  with  loathsome  disease, 
and  I  will  make  his  life  disagreeable,  and  in  every  way  I  will 
plague  him  and  torment  him,  and  I  will  do  it  now."  That  is 
the  devil's  brief  programme :  he  cannot  add  a  line  to  it  if  he 
could  fill  his  hell  by  the  doing  of  it.  Beyond  his  chain  he  cannot 
go.  Thou  knowest,  poor  soul,  what  he  can  do — bereavement, 
poverty,  pain,  humiliation ;  sit  down,  count  the  cost,  add  it  up 
line  by  line,  item  by  item,  and  when  thou  hast  done  so,  know 
the  sum  total,  and  ask  whether  the  grace  of  God  is  sufficient  to 
meet  an  exigency  such  as  that  result  brings  before  thy  view. 

How  afflictions  may  be  made  to  show  God's  grace  I  Let  us 
try  to  take  that  view  of  our  difficulties,  cares,  and  sorrows. 
Great  battles  may  be  fought  in  our  little  lives  :  let  us  therefore 
every  day  think  that  God  is  fighting  out  some  case  along  the  line 


Jobii.]  THE  ASSAULTS  OF  SATAN.  21 

of  our  experience,  and  that  our  behaviour  may  have  something 
to  do  with  God's  own  satisfaction.  We  have  been  managing  our 
own  affairs  for  many  years  and  have  failed  :  let  us  resign  the 
administration  of  our  lives  and  ask  the  Almighty  to  work  his 
will  in  and  through  us  without  any  suggestion,  much  less  any 
interposition,  from  our  side.  The  sorrow,  it  is  bitter:  it  must 
have  been  soaked — soaked  in  the  bitterest  aloes  that  the  devil 
could  pluck  from  the  foulest  trees ;  but  God's  grace  is  sufficient 
for  us. 

What  is  our  special  difficulty?  Is  it  a  home  difficulty? 
Angels  are  waiting  there,  saying,  **  We  have  a  great  fight  going 
on  in  this  house  :  here  is  a  poor  life  worried — worried — and  we 
are  waiting  to  see  whether  the  devil's  pois^on  or  God's  grace  shall 
get  the  better."  Is  it  a  business  difficulty?  Things  have  got 
twisted,  honest,  honourable  man  though  you  be,  and  you  cannot 
disentangle  them.  God  is  saying,  *'  I  tied  the  knot — I  allowed 
the  devil  to  tie  it — and  we  are  both  waiting  to  see  the  result  of 
thy  fingering."  Try,  wait,  try  again :  pray,  hope — ah,  there  !  a 
touch  did  it  at  last :  and  the  unravelled  string  lies  out  before 
thee,  a  straight  line.  Whatever  our  difficulties  or  sorrows,  a 
great  battle  is  being  fought  out  in  our  lives;  let  us  fight  it 
sedulously,  daily,  constantly,  lovingly.  We  have  heard  of  the 
patience  of  Job  :  may  the  memory  of  that  patience  encourage  us 
to  toil  on,  suffer  on ;  under  the  consciousness  that  on  the  third 
day,  in  our  degree,  we  shall  be  perfected. 


or 


J 


Chapter  iii. 
THE   TRIAL   OP  JOB. 

OB  has  made  two  speeches  up  to  this  point  Both  of  them 
admirable — more  than  admirable,  touching  a  point  to  which 
imagination  can  hardly  ascend  in  its  moral  sublimity : — 


"  Then  Job  arose,  and  rent  his  mantle,  and  shaved  his  head,  and  fell  down 
upon  the  ground,  and  worshipped,  and  said,  Naked  came  I  out  of  my 
mother's  womb,  and  naked'  shall  I  return  thither :  the  Lord  gave  and  the 
Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord  "  (i.  20,  21.) 

Mark  in  how  short  a  space  the  sacred  name  is  mentioned  three 
times.    The  second  speech  is  equal  in  religiousness  to  the  first: — 

"  Thou  speakest  as  one  of  the  foolish  women  speaketh.  What  ?  shall  we 
receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil?"  (ii.  10.) 

Again  the  divine  name  is  invoked,  and  set  in  its  right  place, 
at  the  verj'  centre  of  things,  upon  the  very  throne  of  the  universe. 
Job's  first  speech  was  so  full  of  noble  submission,  and  so  truly 
religious  and  spiritually  expressive,  that  it  has  become  a  watch- 
word in  the  bitterest  Christian  experience.  Who  has  not  said, 
"  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord  "  ?  Sometimes  there  has  been  hesitation  as  to 
the  close  of  the  sentence ;  the  voice  has  not  been  equally  steady 
throughout  the  whole  enunciation  :  the  sufferer  has  been  able  to 
say,  '*  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away," — then 
came  a  mark  of  punctuation  not  found  in  the  books,  not  known 
to  writers  and  scholars — a  great  heart-stave ;  and  after  that  the 
words  were  added  with  some  tremulousness — "  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  But  it  is  not  easy  talk.  Do  not  let  us 
imagine  that  passages  like  this  can  be  quoted  glibly,  flippantly, 
thrown  back  in  easy  retort  when  grief  has  come  and  darkened 
the  house  and  turned  the  life  into  a  cloud.  Words  so  noble  can 
only  be  uttered  by  the  heart  in  its  most  sacred  moments,  and 


Jobiii.]  THE  TRIAL   OF  JOB.  23 

then  can  hardly  be  uttered  in  trumpet  tone,  but  in  a  stifled  voice; 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  stifling  and  the  sobbing,  there  is  a 
strong  tone  that  goes  right  through  all  the  bitterness  and  the 
woe,  and  magnifies  God.  Where  have  we  found  these  words  ? 
We  have  found  them  on  our  tombstones.  Walk  up  and  down 
the  cemetery,  and  read  the  dreary  literature  which  is  often  to 
be  found  there,  and  you  will  in  many  instances  come  upon  the 
words  of  Job,  "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ; 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  It  has  helped  many  to  bear 
the  loss  of  children :  is  there  any  greater  grief  in  all  the  resources 
of  woe?  This  passage  has  wrought  miracles  in  face  of  the 
empty  cot.  Strong  men  have  been  able  to  write  even  upon  the 
tombstones  of  little  children — "The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away."  Hardly  like  the  Lord  when  he  so  took  away. 
He  might  have  taken  away  all  the  flock,  and  ripped  up  all  the 
trees  in  one  black  night,  and  the  passage  could  have  been  quoted 
with  somewhat  of  exultation ;  the  loss  would  have  been  as 
nothing ;  so  long  as  the  children  were  about  the  mourner  they 
would  make  him  forget  his  loss.  What  but  the  grace  of  God,  the 
Father  of  the  universe,  could  make  a  man  bear  the  silence  which 
follows  the  loss  of  children?  The  miracle  has  been  wrought, 
and  the  bearing  of  that  silence  has  not  been  a  stoical  answer  to 
a  great  distress,  but  an  answer  full  of  intelligence — intelligence 
growing  up  into  consent,  and  consent  that  has  sometimes  said 
in  moments  of  rapture,  "  I  would  not  have  it  otherwise."  These 
are  the  eternal  miracles  of  grace. 

Reckoning  the  first  and  second  speeches  as  one  deliverance, 
we  now  come  to  another  view  of  Job's  case.  Job's  tongue  is 
loosened,  and  his  words  are  many.  How  did  he  come  to  speak 
so  much?  Because  his  friends  had  gathered  around  him,  and 
after  seven  days  and  seven  nights  of  silence,  "Job  opened  his 
mouth,  and  cursed  his  day."  What  a  secret  masonry  is  this  of 
friendship  and  sympathy.  Job  would  have  taken  his  grief  down- 
ward, as  it  were,  swallowed  it,  digested  it,  and  turned  it  mayhap 
into  some  degree  of  spiritual  strength ;  but  the  sight  of  friend- 
ship, the  touch  of  sympathy,  brought  it  out  of  him — evoked, 
elicited  it;  and  what  other  form  of  speech  was  so  true  to  his 
inmost  feeling  as  the  form  which  is  known  as  malediction  ?    Do 


24  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [JobiiL 

not  read  the  words  as  a  grammarian  would  read  them.  Do  not 
parse  this  grammar  I  the  speech  is  but  one  sentence,  and  it 
rushes  from  a  soul  that  is  momentarily  out  of  equipoise.  Our 
friends  often  draw  out  of  us  the  very  worst  that  is  in  us.  It  is 
one  of  two  things  under  the  mysterious  touch  of  fellowship  and 
sympathy  :  either  we  surprise  our  friends  by  the  dignity  and 
volume  of  our  prayer,  or  we  amaze  them  by  our  power  of  depre- 
cation and  malediction.  But  the  Lord's  recording  angel  never 
sets  down  the  words  as  terms  that  are  to  be  grammatically 
examined,  critically  scrutinised,  as  if  we  had  gathered  ourselves 
up  for  a  supreme  literary  composition,  and  were  prepared  to  be 
judged  finally  by  its  merits  as  a  literary  structure.  We  best 
comment  upon  such  words  by  repeating  them, — by  studying 
the  probable  tone  in  which  they  were  uttered.  We  read  them 
best  when  we  read  them  through  our  tears.  They  do  us  good 
when  we  forget  the  letters  but  feel  all  the  magic  of  the  grief. 
Let  no  wanton  man  trample  upon  this  sacred  ground :  no  lion 
should  be  here,  nor  any  ravenous  beast  go  up  hereon ;  it  should 
not  be  found  here ;  but  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  should  read 
this  chapter,  and  they  should  annotate  it  with  their  own  experi- 
ence, and  say,  Thank  God  for  this  man,  who  in  prose-poetry  has 
uttered  every  thought  appropriate  to  grief,  and  has  given  anguish 
a  new  costume  of  expression.  To  the  end  of  time  the  wobegone 
will  come  to  this  chapter  to  find  the  words  which  they  could 
never  themselves  have  invented. 

Notice  how  terrible  after  all  is  satanic  power.  Look  at  Job 
if  you  would  see  how  much  the  devil  can  under  divine  permis- 
sion do  to  human  life  :  the  thief  has  taken  away  all  the  property  ; 
the  assassin  has  struck  blows  of  death  at  unoffending  men  and 
women;  the  malign  spirit  whose  name  is  Cruelty  has  carried 
the  trouble  from  the  body  into  the  soul.  When  the  Lord  said, 
"  but  save  his  life,"  he  seemed  almost  to  add  a  drop  to  the 
agony  rather  than  assuage  the  pain.  Within  a  limited  sphere,  it 
would  seem  as  if  it  had  been  more  merciful  to  say,  "  Kill  him, 
outright,  at  one  blow;  do  not  prolong  the  agony;  smite  him 
with  a  blow  which  means  death."  The  words  read,  "  but  save 
his  life," — save  his  power  of  feeling,  save  his  sensibility,  save 
that  peculiar  nerve  which  feels  everything,  anjd  which  becomes 


Job  in.]  THE  TRIAL   OF  JOB.  25 

either  the  medium  of  ecstacy  or  of  agony.  But  we  must  not 
judge  the  words  within  limits  which  our  invention  could  assign ; 
we  must  wait  the  issue  to  know  God's  meaning  in  sparing  a 
life  out  of  which  the  life  was  taken.  Oh  !  what  an  irony,  what 
a  contradiction  in  terms — a  lifeless  life,  a  life  all  death  !  Yet 
even  into  the  meaning  of  that  mystery  some  souls  can  come 
to-day.  Look  at  the  picture,  and  as  you  look  at  it  write 
underneath,  This  is  what  the  enemy  would  do  in  every  case. 
If  there  is  any  other  picture  in  human  life,  do  not  credit  that 
picture  to  the  devil ;  if  there  is  a  happy  little  child  anywhere, 
do  not  say,  This  is  the  devil's  work ;  if  to-day  in  all  life's  black 
misery  there  is  a  man  who  is  momentarily  glad,  call  that  gladness 
a  miracle  of  God :  we  owe  nothing  of  beauty,  music,  love,  trust, 
progress  to  the  enemy ;  every  smile  is  a  sunbeam  from  above ; 
every  throb  of  gladness  is  communicated  from  the  life  of  God. 
Perhaps  it  was  well  that  in  one  instance  at  least  we  should  see 
the  devil  at  his  worst.  Such  historical  instances  are  needed 
now  and  again  in  any  profound  and  complete  perusal  of  human 
life.  There  must  be  no  play- work  here.  The  devil  must  show 
what  he  would  do  in  every  case  by  what  he  has  done  in  one. 
"  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you."  There  be  those 
who  ask  whether  there  is  any  personal  devil :  why  ask  such 
a  question  ?  We  have  already  answered  that  the  devilishness, 
which  is  obvious,  makes  the  existence  of  the  devil  more  than 
a  presumption :  if  there  were  no  devilishness,  there  would  be 
no  devil.     Let  his  work  certify  his  existence. 

What  miracles  may  be  wrought  in  human  experience  !  The 
word  "  miracles  "  is  not  misapplied  when  we  study  Job's  bitter 
malediction  upon  the  day  of  his  birth.  See  how  existence  is 
felt  to  be  a  burden.  Existence  was  never  meant  to  be  a  heavy 
weight.  Existence  is  an  idea  distinctively  God's.  "To  be" — 
who  could  have  thought  of  that  but  the  "  I  AM  "  ?  Existence 
was  meant  to  be  a  joy,  a  hope,  a  rehearsal  of  music  and  service 
of  a  quality  and  range  now  inconceivable ;  every  nerve  was 
made  to  tingle  with  pleasure ;  every  faculty  was  constructed  to 
bring  back  to  its  owner  harvests  from  the  field  of  the  universe. 
But  under  satanic  agency  even  existence  is  felt  to  be  an  in- 
tolerable burden — to  be,' is  to  be  in  hell.     "To  be" — the  verb 


26  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobiii. 

of  every  speech,  and  without  which  speech  is  impossible,  is  a 
conjugation  of  agony.  Go  through  all  the  moods  of  this  infinite 
verb,  and  it  is  like  going  through  the  gamut  of  grief.  Even 
this  miracle  can  be  wrought  by  Satan.  He  can  turn  our  every 
faculty  into  a  heavy  calamity.  He  can  so  play  upon  our  nerves 
as  to  make  us  feel  that  feeling  is  intolerable.  Then  in  the  case 
of  Job  all  the  blessed  past  was  forgotten.  Not  a  word  is  said 
about  the  good  time  he  has  already  enjoyed ;  there  is  nothing 
here  of  spiritual  remembrance  :  there  is  no  reference  to  the  time 
when  ''his  substance  also  was  seven  thousand  sheep,  and  three 
thousand  camels,  and  five  hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  and  five 
hundred  she  asses,  and  a  very  great  household ;  so  that  this 
man  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  men  of  the  east "  (i.  3).  It  is 
easy  to  forget  sunshine.  It  is  no  miracle  on  our  part  that  we 
obliterate  the  past  in  the  presence  of  an  immediate  woe.  We 
are  accustomed  to  this  obliteration.  Our  hand,  with  infernal 
skill,  rubs  out  the  record  of  yesterday's  redemption.  To  this 
pass  would  the  devil  drive  us  !  We  should  have  no  memory 
of  light,  music,  morning,  joy,  festival:  the  past  would  be  one 
great  black  cold  cloud,  without  a  hint  of  summer  through  which 
the  soul  has  passed.  Then  again,  in  the  case  of  Job,  the  spirit 
of  worship  was  driven  out  by  the  spirit  of  atheism.  There  is 
no  God  in  this  malediction.  Only  once  is  the  divine  name 
invoked,  and  then  it  is  invoked  for  no  spiritual  purpose.  Yet  the 
same  man  made  all  the  three  speeches.  The  man  who  said, 
"  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  :  blessed  be 
the  name  of  the  Lord  " ;  "  Shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hand 
of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil  ? "  uttered  the  whole 
of  this  back  monologue.  There  is  but  a  step  between  the  soul 
and  atheism.  We  have  but  to  turn  round  from  the  altar  to  face 
a  prayerless  state  and  to  forget  the  living  God.  "  Let  him  that 
thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  What  is  there 
so  easily  shaken  off  as  religious  usage,  spiritual  habit,  and  all 
that  constitutes  an  outward  and  public  relation  to  the  altar  of 
heaven  ? 

But  the  speech  of  Job  is  full  of  profound  mistakes,  and  the 
mistakes  are  only  excusable  because  they  were  perpetrated  by 
an  unbalanced  mind.     The  eloquent  tirade  proceeds  upon  the 


Jobiii.]  THE  TRIAL   OF  JOB.  2; 

greatest  misapprehensions.  Yet  we  must  be  merciful  in  our 
judgment,  for  we  ourselves  have  been  unbalanced,  and  we  have 
not  spared  the  eloquence  of  folly  in  the  time  of  loss,  bereavement, 
and  great  suffering.  We  may  not  have  made  the  same  speech  in 
one  set  deliverance,  going  through  it  paragraph  by  paragraph, 
but  if  we  could  gather  up  all  reproaches,  murmurings,  com- 
plainings, which  we  have  uttered,  and  set  them  down  in  order, 
Job's  short  chapter  would  be  but  a  preface  to  the  black  volume 
indited  by  our  atheistic  hearts.  Job  makes  the  mistake  that 
personal  happiness  is  the  test  of  Providence.  Job  did  not  take 
the  larger  view.  What  a  different  speech  he  might  have  made ! 
He  might  have  said.  Though  I  am  in  these  circumstances  now, 
I  was  not  always  in  them  :  weeping  endureth  for  a  night,  joy 
Cometh  in  the  morning :  I  will  not  complain  of  one  bitter  winter 
day  when  I  remember  all  the  summer  season  in  which  I  have 
sunned  myself  at  the  very  gate  of  heaven.  Yet  he  might  not 
have  said  this  ;  for  it  lies  not  within  the  scope  of  human  strength. 
We  must  not  expect  more  even  from  Christian  men  than  hunian 
nature  in  its  best  moods  can  exemplify.  They  are  mocked  when 
they  complain,  they  are  taunted  when  they  say  their  souls  are  in 
distress ;  there  are  those  who  stand  up  and  say.  Where  is  now 
thy  God?  But  "the  best  of  men,"  as  one  has  quaintly  said, 
"  are  but  men  at  the  best."  God  himself  knoweth  our  frame,  he 
remembereth  that  we  are  dust ;  he  says.  They  are  a  wind  which 
Cometh  for  a  little  time,  and  then  passeth  away;  their  life  is  like 
a  vapour,  curling  up  into  the  blue  air  for  one  little  moment,  and 
then  dying  off  as  to  visibleness  as  if  it  had  never  been.  The 
Lord  knoweth  our  days,  our  faculties,  our  sensibilities,  our 
capacity  of  suffering,  and  the  judgment  must  be  with  him.  Then 
Job  committed  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  circumstances  are 
of  more  consequence  than  life.  If  the  sun  had  shone,  if  the 
fields  and  vineyards  had  returned  plentifully,  answering  the 
labour  of  the  sower  and  the  planter  with  great  abundance,  who 
knows  whether  the  soul  had  not  gone  down  in  the  same  equal 
proportion  ?  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  keep  both  soul  and  body  at 
an  equal  measure.  "  How  hardly  " — with  what  straining — "  shall 
they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Who  knows 
what  Job  might  have  said  if  the  prosperity  had  been  multiplied  ^ 
sevenfold  ?     "  Jeshurun  waxed  fat,  and  kicked."     Where  is  the 


28  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  Qobiii. 

man  who  could  bear  always  to  swelter  under  the  sun-warmth  of 
prosperity?  Where  is  the  man  that  does  not  need  now  and 
again  to  be  smitten,  chastened,  almost  lacerated,  cut  in  two  by 
,God's  whip,  lest  he  forget  to  pray  ?  "  My  brethren,  count  it  all 
joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations."  "Whom  the  Lord 
loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth. 
If  ye  endure  chastening,  God  dealeth  with  you  as  with  sons ;  for 
what  son  is  he  whom  the  father  chasteneth  not  ?  But  if  ye  be 
without  chastisement,  whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  ye  are 
bastards,  and  not  sons."  Let  suffering  be  accounted  a  seal  of 
sonship,  if  it  come  as  a  test  rather  than  as  a  penalty.  Where  a 
man  has  justly  deserved  the  suffering,  let  him  not  comfort  himself 
with  its  highest  religious  meaning,  but  let  him  accept  it  as  a  just 
penalty ;  but  where  it  has  overtaken  him  at  the  very  altar,  where 
it  has  cut  him  down  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  heaven  with 
pure  heart  and  pure  lips,  then  let  him  say,  This  is  the  Lord's 
doing,  and  he  means  to  enlarge  my  manhood,  to  increase  the 
volume  of  my  being,  and  to  develop  his  own  image  and  likeness 
according  to  the  mysteriousness  of  his  own  way :  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord !  But  what  a  temptation  there  is  to  find  our 
religion  in  our  circumstances  I  Who  can  realise  the  profound 
truth  that  to  live  is  better  than  to  have  ?  We  are  prone  to  say 
that  not  to  have  is  not  to  live.  What  a  mystery  is  life  I  Men 
cling  to  it  oftentimes  in  the  extremest  pain.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
just  when  the  agony  is  at  its  most  burning  heat,  they  may  say. 
Oh  that  I  could  die!  but  all  human  history  shows  that  men 
would  rather  put  up  with  much  misery  than  give  up  hfe.  There 
is  a  mystery  in  life;  there  is  a  divine  element  in  being,  in 
existing,  in  having  certain  faculties  and  powers.  This  is  the 
way  of  the  Lordl 

Why  has  Job  fallen  into  this  strain  ?  He  has  omitted  the  word 
which  made  his  first  speech  noble.  We  have  pointed  out  that  in 
the  first  speech  the  word  "  Lord  "  occurs  three  times,  and  the 
word  Lord  never  occurs  in  this  speech  for  purely  religious  pur- 
poses ;  he  would  only  have  God  invoked  that  God  might  carry  out 
his  own  feeble  prayer  for  destruction  and  annihilation ;  the  word 
"God"  is  only  associated  with  complaint  and  murmuring,  as,  for 
example,  "  Let  that  day  be  darkness ;  let  not  God  regard  it  from 


Jobiil]  THE  TRIAL   OF  JOB.  29 

above,  neither  let  the  light  shine  upon  it "  (iii.  4) ;  and  again — 
"  Why  is  light  given  to  a  man  whose  v^^ay  is  hid,  and  whom  God 
hath  hedged  in  ?  "  (iii.  23).  This  is  not  the  "  Lord  "  of  the  first 
speech ;  this  is  but  invoking  Omnipotence  to  do  a  puny  miracle : 
it  is  not  making  the  Lord  a  high  tower,  and  an  everlasting  refuge 
into  which  the  soul  can  pass,  and  where  it  can  for  ever  be  at  ease. 
So  we  may  retain  the  name  of  God,  and  yet  have  no  Lord — 
living,  merciful,  and  mighty,  to  whom  our  souls  can  flee  as  to  a 
refuge.  It  is  not  enough  to  use  the  term  God;  we  must  enter 
into  the  spirit  of  its  meaning,  and  find  in  God  not  almightiness 
only  but  all-mercifulness,  all-goodness,  all-wisdom.  "  God  is  our 
refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble."  Yet  we 
must  not  be  hard  upon  Job,  for  there  have  been  times  in  which 
the  best  of  us  has  had  no  heaven,  no  altar,  no  Bible,  no  God.  If 
those  times  had  endured  a  little  longer,  our  souls  had  been  over- 
whelmed ;  but  there  came  a  voice  from  the  excellent  glory, 
saying,  "  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee ;  but  with 
great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee."  Praised  for  ever  be  the  name 
of  the  delivering  God  I 


NOTE. 

Cursing  the  Day. — The  translation  of  this  passage  is  wrong,  so  far  as  the 
second  clause  is  concerned,  though  the  margin  of  our  Bibles  gives  the  word 
"leviathan  "  instead  of  "  mourning."  Rendered  literally  the  text  would  run 
— "Let  the  curse  of  the  day  curse  it — they  who  are  skilled  to  raise  up 
leviathan."  Leviathan  is  the  dragon,  an  astro-mythological  being,  which  has 
its  place  in  the  heavens.  Whether  it  be  the  constellation  still  known  by  the 
name  "  draco,"  or  dragon,  or  whether  it  be  serpens,  or  hydra,  constellations 
lying  farther  south,  it  is  not  possible  to  decide.  But  the  dragon,  in  ancient 
popular  opinion,  had  the  power  to  follow  the  sun  and  moon,  to  enfold,  or 
even  to  swallow  them,  and  thus  cause  night.  Eastern  magicians  pretended 
to  possess  the  power  of  rousing  up  the  dragon  to  make  war  upon  the  sun 
and  moon.  Whenever  they  wished  for  darkness  they  had  but  to  curse  the 
day,  and  hound  on  the  dragon  to  extinguish  for  a  time  the  lamp  that  enlight- 
ened the  world.  Job,  in  his  bitterness,  curses  the  day  of  his  birth,  and  utters 
the  wish  that  those  who  control  leviathan  would,  or  could,  blot  that  day  and 
its  deeds  from  the  page  of  history. — Biblical  Things  not  Generally  Known, 


w 


Chapter  iv. 

THE   ARGUMENT   OF   ELIPHAZ. 

I. 

E  must  remember  that  the  three  comforters  who  came  to 
Job  in  the  hour  of  his  great  grief  probably  never  heard 
such  a  speech  as  that  which  Job  poured  forth  when  after  seven 
days  and  seven  nights  he  opened  his  mouth,  and  cursed  his  day. 
Who  could  reply  to  such  a  speech  ?  It  may  be  that  Eliphaz  was 
the  oldest  and  the  chief  of  the  comforters  who  came  to  the 
suffering  patriarch,  and  therefore  he  began  the  conversation. 
The  best  comment  upon  his  speech,  as  indeed  upon  the  whole 
Book  of  Job,  is  not  a  critical  handling  of  the  individual  Words 
and  sentences,  but  a  paraphrase, — a  turning  of  the  grand  old 
controversy  into  modern  forms  and  present-day  applications. 
It  has  been  customary  to  sneer  at  the  comforters  of  Job.  Surely 
there  is  nothing  to  sneer  at  in  the  great  speech  of  Eliphaz  ?  It 
might  be  so  read  as  to  appear  to  be  cold,  haughty,  reproachful, 
bitter,  so  as  to  turn  Eliphaz  himself  into  an  insufferable  Pharisee ; 
but  it  may  also  be  so  read  as  to  disclose  in  Eliphaz  a  Christian 
by  anticipation,  a  philosophical  comforter, — a  man  whose  con- 
dolence was  not  the  utterance  of  vapouring  sentiment,  but  the 
balm  of  sanctified  philosophy  and  reason.  Better  read  it  so. 
Why  should  these  men  have  sprung  all  at  once  into  reproachful 
critics  ?  They  had  heard  of  their  friend  being  impoverished, 
smitten  down,  crushed  almost  to  death ;  they  came  from  various 
quarters  and  from  long  distances  to  condole  with  him  :  what  was 
there  to  turn  them  instantly  into  sourness,  and  to  embitter  their 
spirit  ?  They  themselves  were  so  overcome  by  what  they  had 
seen  of  Job's  grief  and  desolation  that  for  a  whole  week,  in  and 
out,  they  could  not  speak  a  word  to  him.  Strange,  passing  all 
credulity,  that  they  should  instantly  turn  themselves  into  sour 
critics,  and  throw  stones  at  the  sufferer  with  pharisaic  self-conceit 
and  haughtiness.     There  is  nothing  of  this  kind  in  the  opening 


Jobiv.]  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ,  31 

of  the  conversation.  What  there  may  be  by-and-by  we  shall  dis- 
cover. Evidently,  however,  the  case  was  wholly  new  to  Eliphaz. 
He  was  a  somewhat  ponderous  speaker — slow,  deliberate, 
majestic.  Whilst  he  is  talking  we  feel  that  he  is  looking 
round  about  the  case,  trying  to  discern  its  meaning;  for  it  is 
wholly  novel,  and  it  comes  upon  him  so  as  to  create  surprise.  He 
has  certain  great  principles  with  which  he  never  parts ;  he  has 
based  his  life  upon  certain  solid  philosophies,  and  whatever 
happens  he  will  try  everything  by  these  great  conclusions. 
But  he  talks  slowly,  and  whilst  he  is  talking  he  is  thinking, 
and  whilst  he  is  thinking  he  is  endeavouring  to  discern  something 
in  the  case  that  will  be  as  light  upon  a  mystery,  or  a  key  to  a 
stubborn  lock.  This  kind  of  experience  never  occurred  before : 
what  wonder  if  some  mistakes  were  made  ?  and  what  wonder  if 
Job  resented  even  balm  and  cordial  and  music  in  such  enfeebled 
distress  ?  There  are  agonies  which  will  not  bear  the  utterance 
of  words,  even  on  the  part  of  sympathising  friends  :  well-meant 
remarks  only  seem  to  drive  the  iron  farther  into  the  quivering 
life.  A  broad  view,  therefore,  must  be  taken  of  the  whole 
situation,  and  taking  that  broad  view  it  may  happen  that  we 
shall  change  our  whole  appreciation  of  this  history  of  Job,  and 
find  in  it  things  that  we  had  hitherto  left  undiscovered. 

Eliphaz  approaches  the  suifering  man  with  an  ''if,"  and  with 
a  double  interrogation  : — "  If  we  assay,  or  attempt,  to  speak,  will 
it  add  to  thy  grief?  If  so,  we  will  still  hold  our  peace.  Yet 
who  can  withhold  or  restrain  himself  from  speaking  ?  It  is  a 
poor  thing  to  do ;  still,  who  can  resist  the  impulse  ?  Understand 
us :  we  do  not  want  even  to  breathe  upon  thy  pain,  lest  the 
breathing  should  increase  its  agony;  yet,  if  we  went  home 
without  saying  a  word,  without  endeavouring  to  present  another 
view  of  the  case  than  that  which  has  darkened  upon  thy  poor 
life,  it  would  seem  as  if  we  were  judging  thee,  and  even  by 
silent  judgment  increasing  an  intolerable  pain.  That,  O  poor 
suffering  friend,  is  our  position.  We  are  afraid  to  speak,  and 
yet  we  must  speak.  We  could  not  have  uttered  a  word  if  thou 
hadst  not  begun  to  speak  thyself,  but  seeing  that  thou  hast  taken 
to  speaking,  may  we  follow  thee  ?  It  may  be  that  in  talking  owr 
all   these   thousand   problems   relief  may  come.     Let   i«   tJwm 


32  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobiv. 

reverently  and  tenderly  betake  ourselves  to  a  contemplation  of 
the  marvellous  drama  and  tragedy  of  human  life."  He  begins 
as  if  he  meant  to  succeed.  He  loses  nothing  by  this  apparent 
weakness.  It  is  the  beginning  of  his  strength.  If  he  were 
feebler  he  would  be  more  furious :  it  is  because  he  is  strong  that 
he  can  afford  to  be  slow.  Then  he,  with  a  master's  skill,  proceeds 
to  a  positive  declaration : — "  Behold,  thou  hast  instructed  many, 
and  thou  hast  strengthened  the  weak  hands.  Thy  words  have 
upholden  him  that  was  fallen,  and  thou  hast  strengthened  the 
feeble  knees"  (vv.  3,  4).  Sometimes  an  encouraging  word  by 
way  of  review  helps  a  man  to  listen,  to  think,  and  to  pray.  _A11 
the  beneficent  past  was  not  forgotten,  the  comforters  knew  the 
former  status  of  Job — the  chief  man  in  the  land,  the  prime 
counsellor ;  a  very  fountain  of  consolation ;  a  man  who  was 
asked  for  and  sought  for  when  the  whole  horizon  darkened  with 
thunder.  Sometimes  we  need'  to  be  reminded  of  our  better 
selves.  It  may  do  us  good  to  be  told  that  once  we  were  good, 
brave,  wise,  tender.  A  reference  of  that  kind  may  bring  tears 
to  a  strong  man's  eyes,  and  make  him  say  in  his  heart- — "  If  you 
think  of  me  so  kindly  as  all  that,  God  helping  me,  I  will  pluck  up 
courage  and  try  again  to  be  as  good  a  man  as  you  have  supposed 
me  to  be."  We  lose  nothing  in  our  education  of  men  by  words 
of  encouragement,  seasonably  and  lovingly  spoken.  What  is 
appropriate  to  a  sufferer  is  sometimes  appropriate  to  a  prodigal. 
Tell  him  that  once  he  was  the  bravest  in  the  whole  set  at  school, 
whose  face  would  have  gathered  up  into  unutterable  scorn  at 
the  bare  mention  of  a  lie  or  a  thing  mean  and  cowardly  ;  tell  him 
of  the  days  when  his  name  was  a  charm,  a  watchword,  which 
had  only  to  be  spoken  and  at  once  it  would  symbolise  honour, 
integrity,  unselfishness.  Let  us  try  that  species  of  medicament 
when  we  attempt  to  heal  wounds  that  are  gaping  and  bleeding, 
and  that  mean  swift  death. 

Eliphaz  is  now  entitled  to  say,  "But  now  it  is  come  upon 
thee,  and  thou  faintest ;  it  toucheth  thee,  and  thou  art  troubled  " 
(v.  5).  I  see  no  taunt  in  these  words.  The  man  is  rather 
called  to  recollection  of  what  he  himself  would  have  said  to  other 
men,  and,  in  the  sixth  verse,  ''  Is  not  this  thy  fear,  thy  con- 
fidence, thy  hope,  and  the  uprightness  of  thy  ways  ?  " — simply 


Jobiv.]  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ.  33 

means,  in  a  broad  sense :  Recall  thine  own  principles ;  hasten 
to  thine  own  sureties,  and  strong  towers,  and  refuges ;  thou  didst 
point  them  out  with  eloquence  and  unction  to  other  men,  now 
will  they  not  be  enough  for  thyself?  Flee  unto  them,  and 
accept  sanctuary  at  the  hands  of  God.  Then  Job  was  but  human, 
for  he  did  quail  under  desolations,  and  losses,  and  torments,  con- 
cerning which  he  had  comforted  other  men.  If  he  live  to  get  out 
of  this,  he  will  comfort  them  as  he  never  comforted  them  before. 
We  cannot  tell  (reading  the  history  as  if  we  had  not  read  it 
before)  what  will  become  of  this  man ;  but  if  he  survive  this 
night — all  nights  grouped  into  one  darkness — he  will  speak  as 
he  has  never  spoken  before  ;  he  will  be  but  a  little  lower  than 
the  angels. 

In  the  seventh  verse  Eliphaz  appears  to  be  reproachful  and 
bitter,  and  to  suggest  that  Job  had  been  playing  the  part  of  a 
hypocrite  : — "  Remember,  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  perished,  being 
innocent  ?  Or  where  were  the  righteous  cut  off."  How  easy  it 
would  be  to  spoil  that  music  by  one  rough  tone;  and  how 
difficult  it  is  to  lift  those  words  into  music  such  as  one  strong 
man  could  communicate  to  another,  more  than  his  equal  once  in 
strength  and  dignity.  But  apart  from  the  immediate  application 
to  Job's  case,  here  is  a  sublime  historical  testimony.  Leaving 
Job  for  a  moment,  here  is  a  challenge  to  the  men  who  have  read 
history — "  Who  ever  perished,  being  innocent  ?  Or  where  were 
the  righteous  cut  off?"  Eliphaz  knew  of  no  such  case,  and 
Eliphaz,  by  his  own  talk,  whoever  he  was,  was  not  a  little  man, 
judging  by  his  words,  judging  by  the  handling  of  his  language. 
For  the  moment  forgetting  all  about  inspiration  and  theology,  and 
taking  the  speech  as  a  piece  of  literature,  we  are  bound  to  say 
that  the  speaker  is  no  contemptible  person.  He,  having  esta- 
blished his  authority  to  speak  by  the  very  manner  of  his  speech, 
challenges  men  to  say  when  innocence  perished,  and  where 
righteousness  was  cut  ofiF.  The  usual  rendering  '  has  been : 
Remember,  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  perished,  being  innocent, — if 
thou  hadst  been  innocent  thou  wouldst  not  have  been  in  this 
condition ;  remember,  I  pray  thee,  where  were  the  righteous  cut 
off, — if  thou  hadst  been  righteous  every  son  and  daughter  would 
have  been  living  to-day,  and  the  hills  would  have  been  alive  with 

VOL.  ZL  5 


34  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [}obiv. 

thy  flocks.  But  who  reads  it  so  ?  Surely  not  the  brave,  gentle 
soul  inhabited  by  the  angel  of  Charity  or  the  angel  of  Justice. 
Read  it  in  some  other  tone  ;  then  its  meaning  will  be  this  :  Job, 
remember  who  ever  perished,  being  innocent  ?  And  we  all 
know  the  life  you  have  led  :  you  have  been  eyes  to  the  blind, 
ears  to  the  deaf,  a  tongue  to  the  dumb,  a  home  to  the  homeless ; 
you  have  lived  amongst  us  a  spotless  character :  do  not  fear, 
therefore,  you  will  not  be  driven  to  destruction  :  the  strife  is  very 
heavy ;  all  the  winds  of  heaven  seem  to  have  conspired  in  one 
furious  gust  and  to  be  driving  thee  away,  but  remember  your 
integrity,  and  take  comfort  from  the  fact  that  innocence  was 
never  utterly  destroyed  :  where  were  the  righteous  cut  off?  Job, 
there  lives  not  a  man  who  could  charge  you  with  unrighteous- 
ness ;  were  any  witness  suborned  to  tell  this  lie,  we  would  all 
rise  up  against  him,  and  convict  him  of  high  treason  against  the 
law  of  truth  and  righteousness  :  that  being  the  case,  stand  upon 
this  grand  broad  fact,  that  God  will  not  allow  the  righteous  man 
to  be  cut  off.  Thus  what  appeared  to  be  a  harsh  criticism  is 
turned  into  a  noble  argument  for  the  consolation  and  sustenance 
of  a  desolated  and  impoverished  soul. 

Eliphaz  is  not  afraid  to  look  at  the  other  side  of  the  case : 

"Even  as  I  have  seen,  they  that  plow  iniquity,  and  sow  wickedness, 
reap  the  same.  By  the  blast  of  God  they  perish,  and  by  the  breath  of  his 
nostrils  are  they  consumed  "  (vv.  8,  9). 

Then  he  falls  into  the  images  of  the  lions,  so  difficult  to  put 
into  our  language,  because  we  have  to  help  ourselves  by  epithets  to 
give  the  full  meaning  of  the  metaphor  of  the  lion.  But  the  whole 
meaning  of  Eliphaz  is  this :  Wickedness  does  perish :  men  that 
plough  iniquity  reap  the  black  harvest;  when  they  appear  to  come 
to  the  mountain-top  it  is  that  they  may  be  the  farther  blown 
away  into  the  infinite  void.  Thus  the  great  comforter  puts  both 
cases  before  Job,  intimating  by  the  last  metaphor  that  it  would 
have  gone  hard  with  him  if  he  had  been  either  wanting  in 
innocence  or  in  righteousness;  then  surely  God  would  have  been 
severe  with  him,  and  would  not  have  given  him  time  to  curse 
the  day  of  his  birth,  but  would  have  crushed  him  ere  he  had 
begun  the  eloquent  malediction.  That  Job  had  been  spared  so 
far  was  part  of  the  argument  of  Eliphaz,  that  something  was  to 


Jobiv.]  THE  ARGUMENT  CF  ELIPHAZ,  35 

come  out  of  this  trial  which  at  present  was  not  discernible  by 
human  foresight.  ^ 

Now  he  changes  his  whole  method  of  speech.  He  was  surely 
a  master  in  the  treatment  of  human  distress.  Is  there  anything 
finer  in  all  history  than  what  follows  from  verses  12  to  19  ?  It 
is  only  due  to  the  Bible,  whoever  wrote  it,  to  say  that  scholars 
learned  in  every  tongue  have  confessed  the  sublimity  of  this 
representation  of  the  revelation  of  God  to  the  human  soul.  Let 
us  read  it : — 

"Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brought  to  me" — literally,  Now 
a  thing  was  stealthily  brought  to  me ;  or,  more  literally  still. 
Now  a  thing  was  stolen  for  me :  a  spirit  put  forth,  as  it  were,  a 
felonious  hand,  and  brought  something  down  from  heaven  to  me ; 
this  IS  no  idea  of  my  own  which  I  am  now  about  to  tell  thee, 
Job ;  I  will  show  thee  a  secret  or  stolen  truth — *^  and  mine  ear 
received  a  little  thereof"  :  there  was  much  more  that  I  could  not 
follow ;  our  words  are  such  poor  little  vessels  they  cannot  hold 
all  heaven's  rain ;  my  vessels  gave  out,  not  God's  revelation,  but 
what  I  did  catch  I  will  hand  over  to  thee,  poor  sufferer.  "  In 
thoughts  from  the  visions  of  the  night,  when  deep  sleep  falleth 
on  men  " — when  distance  is  nothing,  when  time  is  nothing,  when 
we  are  our  winged  selves,  when  we  can  rise  above  the  earth,  and 
float  through  the  air,  or  fly  across  seas,  or  complete  the  circuit  of 
the  horizon  :  in  the  mysteries  of  the  night,  when  we  can  believe 
anything,  however  unusual,  about  ourselves ;  when  we  are  so 
great,  so  wise,  so  far-sighted  :  when  we  seem  to  be  in  possession 
of  the  liberty  of  creation — "  fear  came  upon  me,  and  trembling  " : 
I  was  melted,  I  was  dissolved  :  fear  "  which  made  all  my  bones 
to  shake":  so  that  this  is  no  bravery,  or  audacity,  or  presumption 
on  my  part :  I  received  this  revelation  when  I  was  hardly  able 
to  receive  it,  as  to  the  consciousness  of  mere  strength.  This  is 
God's  way.  He  strikes  great  Saul  to  the  earth,  and  when  the 
man  lies  weakly  on  his  back  he  brings  heaven's  gospel  to  him. 
"When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong."  Lying  there,  in  the 
wilderness  of  the  night,  in  the  desolation  of  darkness,  in  the 
weakness  of  fear,  "  then  a  spirit  passed  before  my  face  " — what 
are  "  spirits  "  ?  who  was  the  first  man  to  invent  the  impossible, 


36  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobiv. 

to  conceive  the  non-existent?  His  name  should  be  famous  in 
the  world — "  the  hair  of  my  flesh  stood  up  " — as  .we  ourselves 
have  felt  the  rising  in  times  of  blank  fear.  The  spirit  "stood 
still,  but  I  could  not  discern  the  form  thereof"  :  if  shape  it  had, 
that  shape  had  none.  "An  image  was  before  mine  eyes" — a 
shapeless  image — as  if  the  darkness  had  brought  itself  into  a 
shapeless  shape :  "  there  was  silence  "  :  I  heard  the  silence ;  my 
breathing  in  it  was  like  a  tempest — oh  that  silence  I — "  and  I 
heard  a  voice " — a  whisper,  as  if  all  eternity  had  humbled  itself 
into  the  smallest  tone — "  saying,  Shall  mortal  man  be  more  just 
than  God  ?  shall  a  man  be  more  pure  than  his  maker  ? "  These 
are  not  invented  words.  They  bear  their  own  seal  upon  them 
that  they  are  a  language  from  a  higher  place.  There  is  an  odour 
in  them  belonging  to  the  gardens  of  paradise;  there  is  a  sublimity 
in  them  belonging  to  the  throne  of  justice ;  there  is  an  august- 
ness  in  them  as  if  they  were  embodied  heavens.  "Behold,  he 
putteth  no  trust  in  his  servants," — for  he  knows  they  are  but 
a  breath,  a  vapour,  frail  even  in  their  strength, — "  and  his 
angels" — his  firstborn,  the  beings  that  began  the  mystery  of 
finiteness — "  he  chargeth  with  imperfection  "  :  he  calls  them 
short  lives,  pieces  of  a  whole,  atoms  of  an  infinite  integer,  broken 
fractions,  sparks  struck  off.  "  How  much  less  in  them  that  dwell 
in  houses  of  clay,  whose  foundation  is  in  the  dust,  which  are 
crushed  before  the  moth  ?  "  He  treats  them  according  to  their 
capacity ;  he  is  not  harsh  with  them  even  in  his  judgments ;  he 
says  they  are  but  of  yesterday:  what  can  they  know?  They 
are  built  upon  clay :  how  high  can  they  rise  ?  The  poor  weak 
clay  would  be  crushed,  and  the  whole  tower  would  totter 
and  fall. 

That  is  part  of  the  speech  of  Eliphaz  :  beginning  with  a 
question,  proceeding  to  a  tribute,  advancing  to  an  argument,  and 
now  approaching  a  great  spiritual  revelation  which  is  of  a  moral 
kind.  What  if  all  morality  be  a  revelation  ?  What  if  we  know 
nothing  about  justice  and  purity  but  what  some  spirit  has 
"  stolen "  for  us,  or  stealthily  brought  to  us  ?  What  if  our 
boasted  talk  about  ethics  and  morals  aud  good  conduct  be  but 
an  ungrateful  forgetfulness  that  all  we  d^  know  we  have  received 
from  heaven  ? 


Jobiv.]  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ,  37 

How    self-testing  is   revelation,    according   to   the   speech   of 
Eliphaz ! 

"Shall  mortal  man  be  more  just  than  God?  shall  a  man  be  more  pure 
than  his  maker  "  (v.  17). 

This  is  the  test  of  all  messages.     Say  that  a  spirit  has  spoken 
to  you,  and  we  have  a   right   to   ask,    What    message   did    he 
deliver  ?     Put  that   question  in    regard   to  this   communication 
from  the  spirit-land.     Say  to  Eliphaz,  If  a  spirit  spoke  to  thee, 
tell  us  his  words,  and  by  the  words  we  will  judge  the  quality 
and  character  of  the  spirit.     Was  it  some  frivolous  communica- 
tion he  made  ?     Let  the  communication  speak  for  itself — "  Shall 
mortal  man  be  more  just  than  God  ?   shall  a  man  be  more  pure 
than  his  maker  ?  "   When  a  spirit  speaks  such  words  we  know 
that  the  spirit  is  of  God.     To  this  test  we  would  subject  the  Bible, 
always   and   everywhere.     What   does  it    say  ?      What  is    the 
burden  of  its  song  ?     What  is  the  purport  of  its  message  ?     If 
it   be   a   book  of  frivolous  anecdote,   of  maundering,   pointless 
sentiment,  of  dream  without  practical  value,  of  consolation  that 
never   touches    the  broken  heart,    then  the  world  will  be    the 
richer  for  its   banishment  from  all  study;  but  if  the    book  be 
self-evidencing,  if  it  speak  to  us  as  if  it  knew  us,  if  it  can  touch 
the  wound  without  hurting  it,  if  it  can  sit  up  with  us  all  night, 
however  long  the  night  is,  and  speak  to  us  in  a  language  the 
heart  can  understand,  then  the  world  will  not   let  it  go.     Let 
us  have  no  fear  as  to  the  place  of  the  Bible  in  civilisation  and 
in  the  world  at  large :  the  hearts  that  owe  it  everything  owe  it 
preservation.     Is  there  anywhere  a  finer  description  of  human 
nature  than  these  words — "  mortal  man  ?  "     We  have  read  them  so 
often  that  by  our  familiarity  with  them  their  originality  is  de- 
stroyed, and  the  vigour  of  the  conception  they  represent.     **  Mortal 
man " — little,  frail,  dying  man  :  call  him  king — you  do  but  de- 
corate death ;  call  him  ruler  and  prince  and  captain  of  a  thousand 
hosts — you  cannot  by  your  epithets  block  out  the  infinite  dis- 
advantage of  his  mortality.    Yet  here  is,  to  me  at  least,  a  sign  that 
immortality  was  not  unknown  to  the  ancient  patriarchal  mind. 
It  is  too  often  forgotten  that  to  have  such  a  God  as  is  revealed 
in  the  Bible  is  to  have  immortality.     We  cannot  have  the  one 
without  having  the  other.     Eliphaz,  by  his  very  grip  of  things, 


38  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobiv. 

by  his  large  reasoning,  by  his  seizure  and  realisation  of  great 
things,  is  immortal  There  are  certain  conclusions  which  follow 
without  being  named,  without  submitting  to  the  degradation  of 
words.  Here,  somewhere  between  the  days  of  Abraham  and 
Moses ;  here,  at  an  assignable  point  in  historic  time,  is  a  speaker 
who,  looking  over  all  he  has  seen  of  the  world's  story,  calls  man 
— proud  man — calls  him  '*  mortal  man."  This  is  a  humiliation 
in  the  one  aspect,  but  an  exaltation  in  the  other  :  the  mortal  is 
the  fleshly,  the  visible,  the  palpable,  and  the  ponderable ;  but  if 
spirit  can  speak  to  man,  then  man  has  in  him  an  answering 
spirit.  We  have,  therefore,  here  in  the  sleeping  Eliphaz,  the 
disabled  man,  his  bones  shaking,  his  bodily  strength  all  gone, — 
we  have  something  left  that  can  hold  communion  with  heaven. 
Whatever  that  is,  it  could  not  die. 

A  very  fine  figure  is  given  in  the  twentieth  verse.  Speaking 
of  men,  whom  he  has  referred  to  as  "mortal,"  he  says,  ''They  are 
destroj^ed  from  morning  to  evening," — literally,  They  are  destroyed 
betwixt  morning  and  evening.  Morning  and  evening  are  as  two 
great  iron  plates — gone  is  a  man  when  they  close  upon  him  ! 
He  steps  upon  no  eternities,  he  does  not  live  from  generation  to 
generation,  in  his  little  personality, — proud,  mighty,  royal,  rich  : 
he  will  die  somewhere  betwixt  "morning  and  evening."  Lord, 
teach  us  to  know  ourselves ;  Lord,  teach  us  to  know  ourselves 
to  be  but  men :  so  teach  us  to  number  our  days  as  to  apply  our 
hearts  unto  wisdom.  Lord,  thou  hast  been  our  dwelling-place 
from  one  generation  to  another ;  continue  to  open  the  doors  of 
thine  eternity  to  our  mortality ;  and  when  the  eventide  comes,  in 
all  its  shadow  and  blackness,  may  this  mortality  be  swallowed 
up  of  life  I 


PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  we  are  thine,  and  would  be  bondmen  unto  thee,  and  live 
evermore  in  the  slavery  of  love.  Sweet  the  bondage,  light  the  yoke,  which 
thou  dost  impose  :  without  them  we  should  have  no  liberty ;  thine  is  a 
liberty  that  is  glorious.  The  Son  hath  made  us  free,  and  therefore  we  are 
free  indeed  :  how  great  the  freedom  of  those  who  live  in  God,  who  are  one 
with  Christ,  who  yield  themselves  to  the  daily  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost ! 
We  have  learned,  through  unimaginable  suffering,  to  say,  Not  my  will,  but 
thine,  be  done ;  and  ever  since  we  gave  up  our  own  will  we  have  begun  to 
live  in  heaven.  This  is  the  miracle  of  God ;  this  is  the  triumph  of  the  Cross  ; 
this  is  the  m3'Stery  of  all  spiritual  culture.  Save  us  from  ourselves  !  In 
every  sense  we  are  of  yesterday,  and  know  nothing;  thou  art  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting,  and  there  is  no  secret  to  thine  eyes.  O  thou 
who  knowest  what  is  best,  fittest,  wisest  for  us,  undertake  our  whole  life, 
and  set  it  out  in  portion  and  division,  and  let  us  feel  how  good  thou  art 
in  permitting  us  to  live.  May  our  life  be  hidden  with  Christ  in  God,  and 
thus  become  a  double  life,  rooted  so  that  it  can  never  be  eradicated,  stablished, 
strengthened,  settled,  so  that  it  never  can  be  disturbed.  Great  peace  have 
they  that  love  thy  law.  Oh  that  we  had  hearkened  unto  thy  commandments, 
and  followed  in  the  way  of  thy  precepts  ;  for  then  had  our  peace  flowed  like 
a  river,  and  our  righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea.  But  we  are  filled 
with  sorrow,  our  hearts  are  cast  down  with  self-reproach  ;  heal  us  lest  we 
die,  save  us  with  daily  salvation,  that  so  our  faithfulness  may  be  kept  alive. 
Go  before  us  in  all  the  way  of  life  :  it  is  difficult,  it  is  steep,  it  is  too  much 
for  our  poor  frail  strength ;  but  we  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  us.  O  thou  who  art  the  Son  of  the  Everlasting  Father,  the 
Brother  of  man,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  come  to  us,  and  give  us  to  know 
how  good  a  thing  it  is  to  stand  in  thy  strength,  and  to  believe  in  thy 
grace.     Amen. 

Chapter  v, 

THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ. 

IL 

HAVING  looked  at  the  general  aspect  of  the  argument  of 
Eliphaz,  let  us  take  up  in  detail  some  of  the  separate 
sayings,  or  sentences,  which  make  that  argument  so  remarkable 
for  terseness  and  brilliance.  Were  we  in  these  expositions  in 
search  of  mere  texts,  we  might  linger  long  and  profitably  over 


40  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job v. 

the  speech  of  Eliphaz.  We  are  not  in  search  of  texts,  but  of  a 
central  thought  and  purpose,  used  in  argument  and  condolence 
in  reference  to  a  specific  case  of  human  suffering.  We  have 
heard  the  reasoning  :  let  us  look  at  some  of  the  diamond  words 
— the  precious,  memorable,  and  ever-quotable  sentences  of  this 
great  speaker. 

"  I  have  seen  the  foolish  taking  root :  but  suddenly  I  cursed  his  habitation** 
(V.  3). 

This  is  a  word  of  sympathy  when  the  circumstances  of  Job 
are  fully  understood.  Job  may  have  been  thinking  that  innocence 
ended  in  nothing,  that  prayer  but  returned  upon  the  suppliant 
with  new  exasperations,  showing  how  life  was  rich  in  nothing 
but  disappointment  and  sorrow.  He  might  have  heard  that 
houses  in  which  no  prayer  was  offered  were  standing  foursquare, 
and  that  flockmasters  who  had  no  conscious  God  were  increasing 
daily  in  flocks  and  herds  and  all  manner  of  substance.  Who  can 
tell  what  subtle  influences  may  have  been  operating  upon  his 
mind  in  this  matter  ?  He  may  have  been  an  Asaph  in  anticipa- 
tion. Eliphaz  tells  him  that  he  has  noticed  all  these  things  :  he 
has  actually  seen  a  foolish  family  as  if  it  were  about  to  become 
established  by  roots;  getting  a  real  solid  hold  upon  the  earth, 
and  sucking  up  its  juices,  and  lifting  itself  up  to  the  sun  as  if 
it  would  absorb  all  the  light.  Eliphaz  says,  I  have  seen  that, 
but,  in  the  name  of  God,  and  speaking  in  the  spirit  and  genius 
of  history,  knowing  as  we  know  facts — not  in  their  occasional 
aspects,  but  in  their  complete  significance — I  cursed  his  habita- 
tion ;  I  threw  a  shadow  of  disapprobation  upon  it ;  for  I  said. 
All  this  is  mere  seeming,  transient  surface  work;  there  is  no 
root ;  this  family — prayerless,  godless,  spiritless — is  but  growing 
up  to  its  own  destruction.  A  testimony  of  this  kind  could  not 
but  be  healing  to  a  man  whose  mind  had  been  unbalanced  for 
the  moment.  We  are  sometimes  victimised  by  apparent  facts ; 
we  say.  How  can  God  live  and  rule  when  such  and  such  events 
transpire  ?  Are  not  the  events  to  be  regarded  as  arguments  ?  and 
do  not  all  the  arguments  point  to  the  impossibility  of  a  reigning 
and  loving  God  ?  Then  how  bewildered  the  mind  is ;  how  it 
spins  and  whirls,  and  cannot  steady  itself,  or  see  anything  as  it 
really  is  I  In  such  hours  of  bewilderment  and  distress  we  need 
some  strong  man,  with  round,  clear,  sympathetic  voice,  to  tell 


Job  v.]  THE  ARGUMENl  OF  ELIPHAZ,  41 

us  that  he  sees  more  clearly  than  we  do,  that  the  old  foundations 
of  things  all  remain,  and  that  history  is  not  a  succession  of 
accidents,  but  the  outworking  of  a  sublime  philosophy,  the  end 
of  which  is  the  coronation  of  righteousness,  the  enthronement 
of  purity  and  nobleness.  Such  comforters  are  sent  to  us  as  from 
the  very  presence  of  God. 

Yet  Eliphaz  will  be  complete  in  his  statement  Job  must  have 
the  whole  case  presented  to  him,  and  not  be  misled  by  mere 
aspects  or  sections  of  the  troubled  reality : — 

"Athough  affliction  cometh  not  forth  of  the  dust,  neither  doth  trouble 
spring  out  of  the  ground ;  yet  man  is  born  unto  trouble,  as  the  sparks  fly 
upward"  (vv.  6,  7). 

A  remarkable  thing  to  have  been  said  by  a  man  who  lived,  as 
we  have  seen,  somewhere  between  Abraham  and  Moses;  in  a 
time  far,  far  away,  when  man,  as  we  know  him,  was  compa- 
ratively young — even    then   this   sad    philosophy    had    become 
estabHshed.     "As  the  sparks  fly  upward"  is  a  sentence  which 
is   variously   read.      We   read   it   as   simply   metaphorical :    as 
certainly  as  sparks  fly  off,  fly  upward,  so  certainly  is  man  born 
unto  trouble.     If  that  is  not  a  fact,  you  must  have  the  evidence 
at  hand.     Why  allow  a  statement  like  this  to  be  preached  from 
every  pulpit,  to  be  declared  in  every  family,  to  be  published  in 
every  form  of  Christian  literature,  if  you  have  evidence  in  your 
possession  the  production  of  which  would  upset  this  calumny 
against  heaven?     But  if  man  is  born  unto  trouble,  this  is  not 
only  a  fact ;  if  it  were  merely  a  fact  it  might  be  dismissed  as 
such,  but  in  addition  to  being  a  fact  it  must  be  a  doctrine :  it 
is   not  a   solitary  circumstance,    how  unique   soever  in   its  in- 
dividuality, it  is  full  of  pregnant  and  far-reaching  suggestion;  it 
compels  the  mind  to  ask  direct  and  searching  questions.     Is  it 
true  that  man  is  born  unto  trouble  ?     Is  there  no  happy  man  to 
stand  up  and  say.    No,  that  is  a  mistake;  trouble  I  have  had 
none;  my  days  have  been  days  of  laughter  and  mirthfulness 
and  festival :  a  summer-life  has  been  mine,  without  one  touch  or 
breath  or  chill  of  cruel  winter  ?     There  is  no  mention  of  trouble 
in  what  we  have   in  the   Bible  as   an  account  of  the  creation 
of   man.      There   is   a    communing   as   between   invisible   and 
omnipotent  persons.    The  communing  runs  after  this  fashion: 


42  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Joby. 

Let  us  make  man  in  our  own  image  and  in  our  own  likeness. 
Not  a  word  about  trouble.  There  was  no  intended  sorrow  in 
the  purpose  of  the  Creator.  Then  something  must  have  hap' 
pened.  What  has  happened  ?  Account  for  it  as  we  may,  there 
is  no  explanation  of  this  trouble,  its  personality  and  universality 
and  permanence,  so  complete,  so  direct,  so  rational,  as  that 
which  is  given  in  Holy  Scripture.  If  man  is  born  unto  trouble, 
there  must  be  some  collateral  evidence  of  it,  as  well  as  the 
direct  proof  of  actual  and  positive  suffering.  Trouble  means 
weakness  as  well  as  pain.  When  a  man  is  in  trouble  he  is 
not  his  full  self;  he  is  but  half  a  man,  or  less  than  half:  his 
faculties  are  clouded,  his  hands  have  lost  their  cunning,  his 
whole  system  feels  the  influence  of  the  tremendous  stroke 
which  has  involved  his  life  in  trouble.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
have  we  such  collateral  evidence?  Is  man  strong  completely 
anywhere?  Or  vary  the  question  :  Is  there  any  point  at  which 
man  has  not  felt  the  influence  of  trouble,  the  enfeeblement  of 
sorrow  ?  Look  at  his  works.  He  never  built  a  house  that  time 
did  not  unroof,  that  time  did  not  take  down  again.  Poor  man ! 
Has  he  not  skill  enough  to  build  a  house  that  shall  defy  old 
time — ruinous,  cruel  time  ?  Man  never  built  a  ship  that  God's 
great  sea  could  not  swallow  up  like  a  pebble.  Poor  man ! 
Something  must  have  happened  to  him  at  some  time,  or  surely 
he  could  have  made  at  least  one  vessel  that  would  have  defied 
all  possibilities,  and  tempest,  and  stress  of  weather?  Man 
never  made  a  chronometer  that  keeps  pace  with  the  sun — exactly, 
astronomically,  punctually ;  his  poor  chronometer  is  always 
falling  out  of  beat,  is  always  in  need  of  survey  and  repair  1 
Whatever  man  does — what  he  builds,  what  he  writes,  what  he 
invents — ^we  find  upon  it  the  seal  of  trouble,  which  is  weakness, 
weakness  which  is  sin,  sin  which  has  to  be  accounted  for.  When 
man  writes  his  book  he  finds  that  he  has  omitted  all  the 
important  matter.  When  man  has  completed  his  parliamentary 
statutes  he  finds  that  they  admit  of  being  interpreted  in  a 
thousand  conflicting  ways.  Poor  man!  He  dips  his  pen  in 
weakness ;  he  represents  his  story  in  one  long  spell  of  sorrow. 
If  this  be  not  so,  produce  the  evidence.  How  glad  we  should 
be  to  find  a  man  who  had  discovered  a  Bible  which  said  man 
was  not  born  unto  trouble ;  who  would  tell  us  that  he  had  found 


Job  v.]  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ.  43 

a  nation  all  young,  all  happy,  all  moving  and  living  in  the  spirit 
of  music.  Until  that  nation  is  discovered  v^e  abide  in  the  rock 
of  our  own  experience,  we  stand  in  the  sanctuary  of  what  we 
ourselves  have  known  and  felt  and  handled.  What  man  calls 
his  progress  is  but  a  series  of  self-amendments.  Why  not  face 
these  facts,  and  search  into  their  origin  ?  If  it  be  science  to  take 
some  little  stone  back  in  its  geological  history  until  it  is  dis- 
covered as  to  its  origin,  it  cannot  surely  be  other  than  a  greater 
science  to  take  back  some  human  emotion,  some  sad,  awful  human 
experience,  and  trace  it  to  the  starting-point 

Then  Eliphaz  changes  the  point  of  view.  Speaking  of  God 
he  says : — 

"  He  disappointeth  the  devices  of  the  crafty,  so  that  their  hands  cannot 
perform  their  enterprise.  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness :  and 
the  counsel  of  the  froward  is  carried  headlong.  .  .  .  They  meet  with  dark- 
ness in  the  daytime,  and  grope  in  the  noonday  as  in  the  night  "  (vv.  12-14). 

So  the  Bible  is  not  only  rich  in  spiritual  testimony  of  what 
may  be  called  a  religious  or  Christian  kind ;  it  writes  the  history 
of  the  wicked  as  graphically  as  it  writes  the  history  of  the 
godly.  Eliphaz  acknowledges  the  presence  in  human  life  of 
craftiness,  cunning,  inventiveness  of  an  evil  kind,  counsel  that 
is  not  ennobled  by  righteousness  or  made  beautiful  by  charity. 
But  he  says  he  has  seen  all  the  pranks  and  antics  of  this  craft, 
he  has  watched  its  way,  and  it  has  always  come  to  ruin,  and 
not  to  ruin  of  a  dignified  kind,  but  to  ruin  clothed  with  humilia- 
tion. If  this  be  otherwise,  again  we  utter  the  challenge,  Produce 
the  evidence.  We  shall  take  no  refuge  on  superstitious  altars 
and  sanctuaries,  saying.  We  are  enclosed  within  these  walls 
and  cannot  make  any  reply  to  you.  We  will  stand  right  out 
upon  the  roof  of  the  sanctuary,  to  be  shot  at  by  any  man  who 
can  smite  us  from  the  eminence ;  or  we  will  come  out  at  the 
front  door  of  the  sanctuary,  and  say.  If  you  have  evidence 
contrary  to  that  which  we  have  produced,  we  only  await  its 
production  on  your  part.  This  evidence  is  historically  old  ; 
this  is  no  new  invention  of  modern  theologians ;  the  very  words 
as  used  by  Eliphaz  are  hoary  with  antiquity, — that  is  to  say, 
they  were  not  new  even  in  his  remote  day,  but  even  then  they 
were  the  words  of  old  history — venerable,  unanswerable. 


44  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  v. 

Now  look  at  the  view  of  God  presented  in  the  argument 
of  Eliphaz.  We  have  seen  how  he  represents  God  as  holy. 
Having  discussed  the  question,  *' Shall  mortal  man  be  more 
just  than  God  ?  Shall  a  man  be  more  pure  than  his  maker  ? " 
now  consider  God's  approachableness : 

"  I  would  seek  unto  God,  and  unto  God  would  I  commit  my  cause  "  (v.  8). 

In  this  instance  the  pronoun  "  I  "  is  to  be  read  with  emphasis ; 
that  is  not  always  the  case ;  frequently,  indeed,  an  emphasis 
is  laid  upon  the  "  I "  which  destroys  the  music  of  the  passage ; 
but  in  this  case  Eliphaz  ventures  to  put  himself  forward  as 
a  personal  example  of  what  he  would  do  under  given  cir- 
cumstances. We  are  to  consider  Eliphaz,  therefore,  as  laying 
a  great  emphasis  upon  this  opening  word  in  the  eighth  verse — 
''/  would  seek  unto  God,  and  unto  God  would  /  commit  my 
cause."  Thus  we  are  encouraged  by  another  man's  bravery. 
If  he  would  but  tell  us  explicitly  what  he  would  do,  we  might  be 
impelled  graciously  to  attempt  the  experiment  as  he  has  proposed 
it.  This  is  what  we  want  everywhere — a  man  who  will  boldly 
tell  us  what  he  would  do  under  the  stress  and  agony  of  life. 
He  must  not  draw  pictures,  or  suggest  what  other  men  should 
do,  but  should  himself  incarnate  the  necessity,  and  be  what 
he  would  have  others  be.  But  has  Eliphaz  any  ground  upon 
which  to  base  this  decision  of  his  with  regard  to  coming  before 
God?  He  says  he  has,  for  he  describes  God  as  one  "which 
doeth  great  things  and  unsearchable ;  marvellous  things  without 
number"  (v.  9).  But  we  may  be  repelled  by  dignity.  The 
very  majesty  of  God  may  overwhelm  and  discourage  us.  We 
would  rather  go  to  our  own  poor  old  mother  than  go  to  some 
god  clothed  only  with  the  terribleness  of  universal  government, 
conspicuous  only  for  dazzling  and  unapproachable  majesty. 
Eliphaz  knew  that;  so  he  supplied  the  very  element  which 
we  require — "who  giveth  rain  upon  the  earth,  and  sendeth 
waters  upon  the  fields "  (v.  10).  Judge  God  by  what  he  does 
in  nature:  let  his  showers  of  rain  be  accepted  as  a  revelation 
of  his  quality  ;  let  his  shepherdliness  among  the  flocks  be  taken 
as  the  first  chapter  in  which  he  reveals  his  real  personality : 
watch  the  orchards  in  the  springtime,  rich  with  blossom,  and 
see  in  all  the  many  colours  of  that  magical  writing  the  Bible 
of  nature.     He  who  cares  for  oxen  cares  for  men.     He  without 


Jobjv.]  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ.  45 

whom  the  sparrow  cannot  fall  to  the  ground  numbers  the  hairs 
of  the  heads  of  men.  Reason  upwards.  Do  not  stop  arbitrarily, 
saying,  Here  is  wisdom,  here  is  goodness,  here  is  even  what 
men  call  grace ;  but  here  we  will  draw  a  line.  The  patriarchs, 
the  prophets,  the  psalmists,  Christ  and  the  apostles,  all  say, 
Carry  on  the  argument  fearlessly;  then  you  will  come  to  this 
sublime  conclusion :  "  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  unto  your  children  :  how  much  more  shall  your 
heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?  " 
If  men,  then  God ;  if  nature,  then  grace ;  if  providence,  then 
redemption :  "  The  meanest  flower  that  blows "  has  in  it 
the  mystery  of  the  redeeming  cross.  What  we  want  is  the 
piercing  eye,  the  seeing  heart,  the  pure  spirit. 

But  is  there  no  tenderness  in  Eliphaz  ?  We  have  been  struck 
by  his  sublimity,  by  his  mental  nobleness,  and  by  his  gift  in  the 
utterance  of  august  and  overwhelming  words  and  images ;  but  a 
little  tenderness  would  now  soften  the  great  argument  and  make 
us  glad.  Nowhere  in  all  Scripture  is  there  an  example  of  purer 
tenderness  than  is  given  in  the  conclusion  of  the  speech  of 
Eliphaz.  We  find  the  proof  from  verses  17-26.  "Happy  is 
the  man  whom  God  correcteth."  That  is  a  new  tone.  Before,  we 
had  never  associated  happiness  with  correction.  The  general 
impression  is  that  correction  means  misery,  and  that  correction 
was  sent  to  chastise  sin  :  to  what  human  heart  has  it  ever 
occurred  that  loss,  pain,  disease,  helplessness  were  elements, 
somehow,  in  the  marvellous  chemistry  which  expresses  its 
results  in  happiness  ?  "  Therefore  despise  not  thou  the  chasten- 
ing of  the  Almighty :  for  he  maketh  sore,  and  bindeth  up  : " 
trace  the  disease  and  the  cure  to  the  same  great  power;  "he 
woundeth,  and  his  hands  make  whole."  These  wounds  are  other 
than  Satanic ;  they  were  incidentally  and  secondarily  inflicted  by 
another  hand ;  but  taken  in  all  their  meaning,  and  in  all  their 
fulness,  there  cannot  be  evil  in  the  city  without  the  Lord  having 
a  hand  in  it,  doing  it  by  permission  or  directly, — a  mystery  not 
to  be  explained  with  la;ne  wordSj  mocking,  self-convicting  words, 
but  to  be  felt  as  benedictions  are  felt,  and  as  the  sublimest 
philosophies  compel  the  assent  of  the  mind.  "  He  shall  deliver 
thee  in  six  troubles : "   will  he  stop  there  ?     Can  he  not  go 


46  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job v. 

beyond  six  ? — "  Yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  evil  touch  thee." 
These  were  bold  words  to  be  uttered  to  man  who  was  lying 
flat  on  the  ground,  without  being  able  to  move  a  hand  in  his 
own  deliverance.  But  it  is  just  under  such  circumstances  that 
gospels  are  seen  to  be  what  they  are :  it  is  in  the  darkness  that 
we  see  the  stars ;  it  is  when  we  are  nothing  that  God  is  all : 
the  cross  without  the  sin  would  have  been  an  irony  not  to  be 
tolerated  by  reason  or  to  be  trusted  by  faith  :  "  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us ; "  it  was  a  propitiation,  an  answer 
to  a  reality,  a  medicament  for  a  fatal  disease. 

Eliphaz  numbers  the  foes  that  can  assault  men.  He  calls  one 
Famine — '*  In  famine  he  shall  redeem  thee  from  death,  and 
in  war  from  the  power  of  the  sword "  (v.  20).  He  names  a 
third  Slander — **  Thou  shalt  be  hid  from  the  scourge  of  the 
tongue  :  neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  destruction  when  it 
Cometh"  (v.  21).  All  nature  shall  be  thy  friend  :  "thou  shalt  be 
in  league  with  the  stones  of  the  field  :  and  the  beasts  of  the  field 
shall  be  at  peace  with  thee"  (v.  23),  All  nature  is  the  friend 
of  him  who  is  the  friend  of  God.  The  stars  in  their  courses 
fought  against  Sisera,  but  the  stones  of  the  field,  and  the  beasts 
thereof,  were  in  league  with  the  man  who  suffered  with  resig- 
nation, and  accepted  his  chastisement  even  with  some  degree 
of  suppressed  thankfulness.  Yes,  there  is  a  community  of 
things ;  an  organic  federacy.  Even  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall 
be  quiet  in  the  presence  of  the  man  who  can  really  pray :  he 
shall  be  known  in  the  forest,  he  shall  be  recognised  on  the  sea. 
He  has  not  yet  come  but  in  one  personality, — namely,  the 
personality  of  the  Son  of  God ;  but  the  time  is  coming  when 
humanity,  now  redeemed,  then  educated  by  many  a  providence 
and  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  shall  trample  upon  the  serpent 
and  the  adder,  and  hold  the  lion  at  bay.  This  shall  be  the 
result  of  things !  Saints  shall  judge  the  world,  and  holy  men 
shall  be  a  little  lower  than  God. 

And  Job  was  comforted  with  the  assurance  that  his  flocks  and 
herds  would  be  all  right  in  the  end  : — 

"  And  thou  shalt  know  that  thy  tabernacle  shall  be  in  peace ;  and  thou 
shalt  visit  thy  habitation,  and  shalt  not  sin  "  (v.  24). 

That  is  an  extraordinary  expression,  but  literally  it  is  full  of 


Jobv.]  THE  ARGUMENT  OF  ELIPHAZ,  47 

beauty.  It  should  be  read  thus  :  And  thou  shalt  visit  thy  habita- 
tion, and  shalt  miss  nothing :  everything  will  be  there,  sons  and 
daughters,  and  houses  and  lands,  and  flocks  and  possessions  and 
riches :  seek  thou  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteous- 
ness;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  miss  nothing.  That  is  a  figure  under  which  sin  is  often 
represented  in  the  Bible.  Sin  misses  the  mark.  Sin  aims  but 
never  hits.  Using  the  word  in  its  literal  sense,  therefore,  Eliphaz 
says  :  Thou  shalt  visit  thine  habitation,  and  shalt  miss  nothing ; 
and  then  as  to  the  end — "  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full 
age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season  "  (v.  26).  Oh  I 
he  was  poet  as  well  as  saint ;  he  was  philosopher,  and  therefore 
comforter ;  he  had  a  great  reserve  of  mental  power,  and  there- 
fore his  fingers  were  tipped  with  delicacy,  and  what  wound  he 
touched  he  left  without  exasperation.  "  Like  as  a  shock  of  corn 
Cometh  in," — literally,  Like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  up.  The 
threshing-floors  were  on  high,  and  the  shocks  of  corn  were  taken 
up  to  the  high  threshing-floors,  there  to  be  used  with  a  view  to 
being  turned  into  bread  :  so,  Job,  thou  shalt  come  up  to  God's 
threshing-floor  in  due  time.  We  must  all  die :  the  question  is, 
How  shall  we  die  ?  We  cannot  escape  that  fate.  There  is  no 
discharge  in  that  war.  When  the  enemy  has  mocked  us,  taunted 
us  at  the  altar,  smitten  us  in  the  face,  laughed  at  the  Bible, 
scorned  us  with  bitter  scorning,  what  has  he  done  ?  He  has  left 
every  great  fact  and  tragedy  of  life  untouched,  unaccounted  for. 
He  cannot  save  us  from  the  hour  and  article  of  death.  It  is, 
therefore,  a  serious  question,  How  shall  we  meet  that  great 
event  ?  It  cometh  alike  to  all, — sometimes  without  notice,  often 
suddenly :  the  Judge  standeth  at  the  door.  Sad  it  will  be  after 
all  if  we  have  no  answer  to  that  black  guest  but  the  laugh  of 
the  mocker,  and  the  jibe  of  him  who  made  unseasonable  merri- 
ment. Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous ;  let  my  last  end 
be  like  his.  As  a  rational  man,  having  seen  somewhat  of  life, 
and  read  somewhat  of  history,  and  considered  somewhat  the 
ways  of  men,  and  having  given  a  whole  lifetime  to  the  study 
of  the  Book  of  God,  I  wish  to  put  it  on  record,  here  and  now, 
that  I  know  of  no  influence  that  can  so  sustain  the  spirit,  so 
illumine  the  last  darkness,  as  the  presence  of  the  Son  of  man, 
Immanuel,  God  with  us  1 


Chapters  vi.,  viL 
JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  ELIPHAZ. 

THE  speech  of  Eliphaz,  which  we  have  already  considered, 
was  not  the  kind  of  speech  to  be  answered  off-handedly. 
We  haye  been  struck  by  its  nobleness  and  sublimity,  its 
fulness  of  wisdom ;  and,  indeed,  we  have  not  seen  any  reason, 
such  as  Job  seems  to  have  seen,  for  denying  to  that  great  speech 
the  merit  of  sympathy.  Why,  then,  does  Job  break  out  into 
these  lamentations?  The  reason  appears  to  be  obvious.  We 
must  come  upon  grief  in  one  of  two  ways,  and  Job  seems  to  have 
come  upon  grief  in  a  way  that  is  to  be  deprecated.  He  came 
upon  it  late  in  life.  "  It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke 
in  his  youth."  Observe  how  Job  comes  before  us — a  master, 
a  chief,  a  very  prince,  a  great  flockmaster,  and  in  possession 
of  all  comforts,  privileges,  and  enjoyments  usually  accounted 
essential  to  solid  prosperity  and  positive  and  genuine  comfort. 
Grief  must  tell  heavily  whenever  it  comes  upon  a  man  in  such 
a  condition.  This  accounts  for  his  lamentation,  and  whine,  and 
long-drawn  threnody.  He  was  not  accustomed  to  it.  Some  men 
have  been  born  into  trouble,  and  they  have  become  acclimatised ; 
it  has  become  to  them  a  kind  of  native  condition,  and  its  utter- 
ances have  been  familiar  as  the  tongue  of  nativity.  Blessed  are 
they  who  come  upon  grief  in  that  method.  Such  a  method 
appears  to  be  the  method  of  real  mercy.  Sad  is  it,  or  must  it 
be,  to  begin  life  with  both  hands  full,  with  estate  upon  estate, 
with  luxury  upon  luxury,  so  that  the  poor  little  world  can  give 
nothing  more  I  When  grief  strikes  a  child  born  under  the  dis- 
advantage of  riches,  it  must  make  him  quail — it  must  be  hard 
upon  him.  Griefjnust  come.  The  question  would  seem  to  be, 
When  ?  or^  How  ?  Come  it  will.  The  devil  allows  no  solitary 
life  to  pass  upward  into  heaven  without  fighting  its  way  at  some 
point  or  other.     It  would  seem  to  me  as  if  the  suggestion  that 


Jobvi.,vii.]      JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  ELIPHAZ,  49 

Job  came  upon  grief  late  in  life  was  a  kind  of  key  to  many  utter 
ances  of  suffering,  and  many  questions  as  to  the  reality  and 
beneficence  of  God's  government.  Yet,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  No 
doubt  there  is  a  practical  difficulty.  Who  can  help  being  born 
into  riches?  Not  the  child.  The  responsibility,  then,  is  with 
the  father.  What  do  you  want  with  everything  ?  When  are 
you  going  to  stop  the  self-disappointing  process  of  acquisition  ? 
You  think  it  kind  to  lay  up  whole  thousands  for  the  boy.  In 
your  cruel  kindness  you  start  him  with  velvet.  Secretly  or 
openly,  you  are  proud  of  him  as  you  see  him  clothed  from  head 
to  foot,  quite  daintily,  almost  in  an  aesthetic  style,  without  a  sign 
on  his  httle  hands  of  ever  having  earned  one  solitary  morsel  of 
bread.  You  call  him  beautiful ;  you  draw  attention  to  his  form 
and  air  and  whole  mien,  and  inwardly  chuckle  over  the  lad's 
prospects.  Better  he  had  been  born  in  the  workhouse!  And 
you  are  to  blame !  You  are  the  fool !  But  grief  must  come. 
You  cannot  roof  it  out  with  slates  and  tiles,  nor  keep  it  at  bay 
with  stone  walls.  Let  us  say,  again  and  again,  "  It  is  good  for 
a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth  " ;  and  you  know  it, 
because  you  bore  the  yoke  in  your  youth.  Your  father,  or 
grandfather,  was  quite  in  a  small  way  of  business  :  but  oh,  how 
you  enjoyed  the  bread !  You  had  to  run  an  errand  before  break- 
fast, and  came  back  with  an  appetite, — your  boy  comes  down 
late,  without  any  soul  for  his  food ;  and  you  think  him  not  well, 
and  call  in  aid,  and  elicit  neighbourly  sympathy !  Oh,  how 
unwise  I  How  untrue  to  the  system  of  things  which  God  has 
established  in  his  universe !  Make  your  acquaintance  with  a 
man  who  has  seven  sons,  three  daughters,  seven  thousand  sheep, 
three  thousand  camels,  five  hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  five  hundred 
she  asses,  and  a  very  great  household  \  and  you  might  well  say, 
What  a  field  there  is  for  the  devil  to  try  temptation  in  1  Yet 
how  to  obviate  the  difficulty  is  certainly  a  question  not  easily 
answered.  We  can  but  approach  the  possible  solution  of  the 
problem  little  by  little,  ordering  everything  in  a  spirit  of  dis- 
cipline, without  ever  touching  the  meanness  of  oppression.  It 
is  one  thing  to  be  Job,  and  another  to  read  his  book.  We  do 
not  read  it  well.  We  read  it  as  if  it  had  all  been  done  with  in  an 
hour  or  two ;  whereas  the  book  ought  to  be  spaced  out  almost 
like  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  We  have  had  occasion  to  say 
VOL.  XI.  4 


50  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobvi.,vii 

that  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  would  create  less  confusion  if 
we  inserted  a  millennium  now  and  then — if  we  punctuated  it 
with  a  myriad  ages  here  and  there.  But  we  rush  through  it. 
Quite  in  a  hot  gallop  we  finish  the  Book  of  Job.  Who  can 
understand  such  a  dramatic  history  so  reading  it?  Why  not 
remember  that  seven  days  and  seven  nights  elapsed  before  a 
word  was  spoken  by  Eliphaz,  after  he  had  seen  that  the  grief  of 
Job  was  very  great  ?  Observe  where  the  period  of  silence  comes 
in;  and  consider  the  thought  that  it  is  possible  that  days  and 
nights  may  have  elapsed  as  between  the  various  speeches,  setting 
them  back  in  time,  giving  them  an  opportunity  for  taking  upon 
themselves  the  right  atmosphere  and  colour,  and  affording  the 
speakers  also  an  opportunity  of  uttering  their  grief  with  appro- 

Xpriate  gesture  and  accent.  The  speeches  were  punctuated  with 
sobs.  The  sentences  were  never  uttered  fljppantly,  but  were 
^""^  ""  drawn  out  as  is  the  manner  of  sorrow,  or  were  ejected,  thrown 
^^  out,  with  a  jerk  and  hurry  characteristic  of  some  moods  of  grief. 
^^"f  Let  us  allow,  then,  that  the  speech  of  Eliphaz  had  been  uttered, 
and  had  lain  as  it  were  some  time  in  the  mind  of  Job.  Grief 
delights  in  monologue.  Job  seems  scarcely  to  lay  himself  down 
mentally  upon  the  line  adopted  by  Eliphaz.  J^;  is  most  difficult 
to  find  the  central  line  of  Job's  speech,  and  yet  that  very  diffi- 
cultv  would  seem  to  show  the  reality  of  his  grief,  the  tumult  of 
Jijs  ungovernable  emotiop.  Too  much  logic  would  have  spoiled 
the  grief.  Reasoning  there  is,  but  it  comes  and  goes  ;  it  changes 
its  tone — now  hardly  like  reason  in  its  logical  form;  now  a 
wave,  an  outburst  of  heart-sorrow ;  and  then  coming  firmly  down 
upon  realities  it  strikes  the  facts  of  life  as  the  trained  fingers  of 
the  player  might  strike  a  chord  of  music. 

Note  how  interrogative  is  the  tone  of  Job's  speech,  and  found 
an  argument  upon  its  interrogativeness.  More  than  twenty 
questions  occur  in  Job's  reply.  He  was  great,  as  grief  often  is, 
in  interrogation.  What  do  these" marks  of  interrogation  mean? 
They  almost  illustrate  the  speech ;  for  he  who  asks  questions 
this  fashion  is  as  a  man  groping  his  way  in  darkness.     A 


blind  man's  statf  is  always  asKmg  questions.  You  never  saw  a 
blind  man  put  out  his  hand  but  that  hand  was  really  in  the  form 
of  an  interrogation,  saying,  m  its  wavering  and  quest.  Where 


^'v. 


Jobvi.,vii.]      JOB'S  ANSWER   TO  ELIPHAZ.  51 

am  I?  What  is  this?  What  is  my  position  now?  Am  I  far 
from  home  ?  Do  I  come  near  a  friend  ?  The  great  speeches  of 
Demosthenes  have  been  noted  for  their  interrogation;  the  marks 
of  interrogation  stand  among  the  sentences  like  so  many  spears, 
swords,  or  implements  of  war;  for  there  was  battle  in  every 
question.  It  would  appear  as  if  grief,  too,  also  took  kindly  to 
the  interrogative  form  of  eloquence.  Job  is  asking,  Are  the  old 
foundations  stiU  here  ?  things  have  surely  been  changed^TrPfhe 
JlisbiitiH?.e>-.fcL, 1 .2im  unaccustomed  to  what  is  now  round~aBout 
me  :  is  the  sky  torn  down  ?  does  the  sun  still  rise  ?  does  the  sun 
still  set?  is  old  sweet  mother  nature  still  busy  getting  the  table 
read;y  for  her  hungry  children  ?  or  has  everything  changed  since 
I  have  passed  into  this  trance  of  sorrow  ?  All  this  is  natural. 
It  is  not  mere  eloquence.  It  is  eloquence  coloured  with  grief; 
eloquence  ennobled  by  pain.  The  great  words  might  be  read  as  a 
mere  school  exercise ;  whereas  they  ought  to  be  read  by  shattered 
men,  who  can  anno.tatejevery  sentence  by  a  corresponding  record 
in  their  own  experience.  Is  it  not  what  men  do  just  now  in 
/^H^  times  of  change  and  great  stress  and  fear  ?  They  ask  one  another 
questions;  they  elevate  commonplaces  into  highly-accentuated 
inquiries ;  things  that  have  been  perfectly  familiar  to  them  now 
startle  them  into  questioning  and  wonder,  because  surely  since 
they  themselves  have  been  so  unbalanced,  caught  in  so  tremen- 
dous an  uproar  and  tumult,  things  must  have  been  decentrailsed, 
or  somehow  thrown  out  of  equipoise  and  shape. 

Notice  how  many  misunderstandings  there  are  in  this  sp  <iecb 
of  the  suffering  man  : — 

"Oh  that  my  grief  were  throughly  weighed,  and  my  calamity  laid  in  the 
balances  together  1  For  ijow  it  would  be  heavier  than  the  sand  of  the  sea" 
(vi.  2,  3). 

Who  ever  thought  that  hi$  grief  was  exactly  comprehended  by 
his  friends  ?  Job  makes  much  of  the  grief  with  which  a  thousand 
other  men  had  been  familiar  all  their  lives.  When  the  rich  man 
loses  any  money,  what  an  outcry  there  is  in  his  house !  When 
.  the  poor  man  loses  something,  he  says — As  usual !  well,  we  must 
hope  that  to-morrow  will  be  brighter  than  to-day  I  J^t  let  a 
great,  prosperous,  space-filling  jich  man_lose_any  money,  and  he 
loses  a  whole  night's  sleep  immediately  after  it;  he^says^J^Oh 


5a  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobvi.,vii. 

that^my  grief  were  throughly  weighed  I "  He  likes  "  thorough  " 
work  when  the  work  is  applied  to  sympathising  with  him.  So 
we  misunderstand  our  friends;  then  we  misunderstand  our 
pain : — 

"  Oh  that  I  might  have  my  request ;  and  that  God  would  grant  me  the 
thing  that  I  long  for  I  Even  that  it  would  please  God  to  destroy  me ;  that  he 
would  let  loose  his  hand  and  cut  me  oflfl  Then  should  I  yet  have  comfort" 
(vi.  8-10). 

We  do  not  know  that  our  pain  is  really  working  out  for  us,  if  we 
truly  accept  it,  the  highest  estate  and  effect  of  spiritual  education. 
No  man  can  enjoy  life  who  has  not  had  at  least  one_g|imps^  of 
death.  What  can  enjoy  food  so  keenly  as  hunger  ?  Who  knows 
the  value  of  money  so  well  as  he  who  has  none,  or  has  to  work 
hardly  for  every  piece  of  money  that  he  gains?  Such  is  the 
jaystery  of  pain  in  human  education  Have  not  men  sometimes 
said :  It  was  worth  while  to  be  sick,  so  truly  have  we  enjoyed 
health  after  the  period  of  disablement  and  suffering?  Pain 
cannot  be  judged  during  its  own  process.  From  some  pictures 
we  must  stand  at  a  certain  distance  in  order  to  see  them  in  proper 
focus,  and  get  upon  them  interpreting  and  illuminating  lights. 
It  is  sympathetically  so  with  pain.  The  pain  that  tears  us  now 
like  a  sharp  instrument,  working  agony  in  the  flesh,  will  show 
its  whole  meaning  to-morrow,  or  on  the  third  day — God's  re- 
surrection day,  and  day  of  culmination  and  perfecting.  *'Let 
patience  have  her  perfect  work." 

Job  not  only  misunderstood  his  friends  and  misunderstood 
his  pain,  he  misunderstood  all  men,  and  the  whole  system  and 
scheme  of  things.     He  saidT:— 

"My  brethren  have  dealt  deceitfully  as  a  brook,  and  as  the  stream  of 
brooks  they  pass  away ;  which  are  blackish  by  reason  of  the  ice,  and  where- 
in the  snow  is  hid  :  what  time  they  wax  warm,  they  vanish :  when  it  is 
hot,  they  are  consumed  out  of  their  place.  The  paths  of  their  way  are 
turned  aside ;  they  go  to  nothing,  and  perish.  The  troops  of  Tema  looked, 
the  companies  of  Sheba  waited  for  them"  (vi.  15-19). 

That  is  to  say,  the  caravan  went  in  the  direction  of  the  old  stream, 
and  the  drivers  and  owners  of  the  caravan  said,  "  We  shall  find 
water  here :  here  we  always  pause  to  recover  ourselves  at  the 
hospitable  brook;"  and,  lo,  the  water  is  all  dried  up,  and  they 


Jobvi.,vii.]      JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  ELIPHAZ,  53 

turn  away  with  the  bitter  feeling  of  having  been  disappointed 
and  mocked.  So  are  all  men  coloured  by  their  own  immediate 
feelings.  Given  a  state  of  personal  happiness,  real  buoyancy  of 
soul ;  and  then  even  enemies  take  upon  themselves  some  colour 
of  friendship,  or  at  least  of  lessened  hostility.  How  easy  it  is 
for  the  buoyant  and  prosperous  man  to  jibe  the  suffering  and 
the  weak,  to  rally  them  on  their  folly  and  unmanliness,  and  to 
call  upon  them  to  stand  up  and  be  men  I  Buoyancy  is  not 
always  wisdom.  A  man  must  himself  be  in  sufifering  really  to 
sympathise  with  the  suffering  of  other  men.  There  are  agonies 
out  of  which  men  cannot  be  rallied  or  laughed.  There  are 
experiences  which  suggest  silence ;  and  then  prayer.  We  must 
study  our  case  by  itself,  and  adapt  the  medicament  to  the  disease. 

How  suffering  not  rightly  accepted,  or  not  rightly  understood, 
colours  and  perverts  the  whole  thought  and  service  of  life  I  Job 
said : — 

"  Is  there  not  an  appointed  time  to  man  upon  earth  ?  are  not  his  days 
also  like  the  days  of  an  hireling?  As  a  servant  earnestly  desireth  the 
shadow,  and  as  an  hireling  looketh  for  the  reward  of  his  work  :  so  am  I 
made  to  possess  months  of  vanity,  and  wearisome  nights  are  appointed  to 
me**  (vii.  1-3). 

Thus  we  begin  to  think  life  not  worth  living.  It  is  such  a  little 
thing  it  is  hardly  worth  our  attention ;  there  is  not  room  enough 
in  it  for  any  great  heaven.  Assuming  that  God  is  wilHng  to 
give  us  great  blessings,  we  have  not  a  vessel  large  enough  to 
contain  a  mouthful  of  heaven's  better  rain :  the  whole  scheme 
of  life  is  a  mistake,  the  grave  is  magnified  and  becomes  the 
chief  object  visible  upon  the  landscape  which  the  traveller  must 
pause  over.  So  much  depends  upon  our  mental  mood,  or  our 
spiritual  condition  :  hence'  fhe  need  of  our  being  braced  up,  fired, 
made  strong ;  hence  our  need  of  such  tonics  as  give  us  masculine 
energy,  virule  strength,  pith  that  can  bear  the  day's  burden  as 
if  it  were  but  a  speck  of  dust.  We  are  what  we  really  are  in 
our  heart  and  mind.  A  man's  life,  in  every  sense,  consisteth 
not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth.  What  is 
his  spirit  ?  What  is  his  uppermost  feeling  with  regard  to  Time, 
Eternity,  Truth,  Destiny,  Life,  God  ?  Keep  the  soul  right,  and 
it  will  rule  the  body.     Keep  the  spirit  pure  and  thankful,  anci 


TJiriVE 


54  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [JobvL.vii. 

it  will  break  the  seven  loaves  into  a  feast  for  thousands,  and 
will  satisfy  the  desires  of  a  great  host.  But  if  we  are  working 
for  the  outward,  then  shall  we  have  bitterness  and  disappoint- 
ment within ;  if  we  are  working  for  the  spiritual,  and  growing 
in  grace — which  means  growing  in  identity  with  God  and  Christ ; 
growing  in  the  very  spirit  of  knowledge,  wisdom,  purity,  and 
truthfulness — then  all  the  outward  will  be  governed  and  con- 
trolled by  the  supreme  astronomic  force,  as  all  the  worlds  are 
held  in  leash  by  the  master-hand — the  great  central  solar  force. 

So  we  return  to  our  starting-point,  that  sorrow  must  come. 
It  is  difficult  for  the  young  to  believe  this.  The  young  have  had 
but  a  transient  ache  or  pain,  which  could  be  laughed  off,  so 
superficial  was  it.  So  when  preachers  talk  of  days  that  are 
nights,  and  summers  that  are  made  cold  by  unforgotten  or  fast- 
approaching  winters,  the  young  suppose  the  preachers  are  always 
moaning,  and  the  church  is  but  a  painted  grave,  and  it  is  better 
to  be  in  the  lighted  theatre  and  in  the  place  of  entertainment, 
where  men  laugh  wildly  by  the  hour  and  take  hold  of  life  with 
a  light  and  easy  touch.  The  preachers  must  bear  that  criticism, 
committing  themselves  to  time  for  the  confirmation  of  their  words, 
which  indicate  the  burden,  stress,  and  the  weariness  of  life. 
Life  has  been  one  continual  grief.  Death  soon  came  into  the 
house,  and  made  havoc  at  the  fireside.  Poverty  was  a  frequent 
visitor  at  the  old  homestead — lean,  wrinkled,  husky-voiced 
poverty,  without  a  gleam  of  sunlight  on  its  weird  face,  without 
a  tone  of  music  in  its  exhausted  voice ;  want  painted  upon  every 
feature,  necessity  embodied  in  every  action  and  attitude  :  then 
every  enterprise  failed  ;  the  letter  that  was  to  have  brought  back 
the  golden  answer  was  either  never  received  or  never  answered. 
Now  the  natural  issue  of  sorrow  is  gloom,  dejection,  despair 
of  Hfe.  To  this  end  will  sorrow  bring  every  man  who  yields 
himself  to  it.  Suffering  will  pluck  every  flower,  destroy  every 
sign  of  beauty,  put  back  the  dawn,  and  lengthen  the  black  night. 
This  is  what  sorrow,  unblessed,  must  always  do.  It  will  blind 
the  eye  with  tears ;  it  will  suftbcate  the  throat  with  sobs ;  it  will 
enfeeble  the  very  hand  when  it  is  put  out  to  make  another  effort 
at  self-restoration.  But  has  it  come  to  this,  that  sorrow  must 
be  so  received  and  yielded  to  ?     Is  there  any  way  by  which  even 


Jobvi,vii.]      JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  ELIPHAZ.  55 

sorrow  can  be  turned  into  joy  ?  The  Bible  discloses  such  a  way. 
The  Bible  never  shrinks  from  telling  us  that  there  is  grief  in 
the  world,  and  that  that  grief  can  be  accounted  for  on  moral 
principles.  The  Bible  measures  the  grief:  never  lessens  it, 
never  makes  light  of  it,  never  tells  men  to  shake  themselves 
from  the  touch  and  tyranny  of  grief  by  some  merely  human 
effort;  the  Bible  says,  The  grief  must  be  recognised:  it  is 
the  black  child  of  black  sin ;  it  is  God's  way  of  showing  his 
displeasure;  but  even  sorrow,  whether  it  come  in  the  form  of 
penalty  or  come  simply  as  a  test,  with  a  view  to  the  chasten- 
ing of  the  man's  heart  and  life,  can  be  sanctified  and  turned 
into  a  blessing.  Any  book  which  so  speaks  deserves  the 
confidence  of  men  who  know  the  weight  and  bitterness  of  suffer- 
ing. Look  at  the  old  family  Bible,  and  observe  where  it  is 
thumbed  most.  Have  we  not  said  before  that  we  can  almost 
tell  the  character  of  the  household  from  the  finger-marks  upon 
the  old  family  Bible  ?  Did  we  not  once  say.  Turn  to  the  twenty- 
third  Psalm,  and  see  how  that  has  been  treated  ?  Ah !  there 
how  well  thumbed  it  is  !  There  has  been  sorrow  in  this  house. 
Turn  to  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John,  and  see  whether  that 
chapter  is  written  upon  a  page  unstained  by  human  touch ;  and 
behold  how  all  the  margin  seems  to  be  impressed  as  by  fingers 
that  were  in  quest  of  heaven's  best  consolations  I  Do  not  come 
to  the  Bible  only  for  condolence  and  sympathy ;  come  to  it  for 
instruction,  inspiration,  and  then  you  may  come  to  it  for  conso- 
lation, sympathy,  tenderest  comfort — for  the  very  dew  of  the 
morning,  for  the  very  balm  of  heaven,  for  the  very  touch  of 
Christ.  We  must  not  make  a  convenience  of  the  Bible,  coming 
to  it  only  when  we  are  in  sore  straits ;  we  must  make  a  friend 
of  it — a  great  teacher.  God's  statutes  should  be  our  songs  in  the 
house  of  our  pilgrimage,  and  if  we  are  faithful  at  Sinai  we  shall 
be  welcomed  at  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes.  If  we  have  struggled 
well  as  faithful  servants  there  will  not  be  wanting  at  last  the 
welcome  which  begins  and  means  all  the  reward  of  heaven. 


Chapter  viii. 
THE  FIRST  SPEECH  OP  BILDAD. 

CONSIDERING  the  whole  case,  we  must  never  forget  the 
exact  condition  in  which  the  three  comforters  found  Job 
himself.  This  is  not  a  merely  speculative  discussion,  all  the 
men  being  upon  equal  terms,  and  all  enjoying  the  luxury  of 
intellectual  vitality,  and  the  delight  of  talking  over  subjects  which 
have  no  practical  bearing :  one  of  the  men  is  hardly  alive.  What 
was  his  condition  ?  Children  all  dead,  flocks  destroyed,  camels 
carried  away,  servants  slain  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  Job 
smitten  "  with  sore  boils  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his  crown. 
And  he  took  him  a  potsherd  to  scrape  himself  withal ;  and  he 
sat  down  among  the  ashes."  A  man  in  such  circumstances  is  not 
likely  to  enjoy  any  exercise  in  merely  intellectual  gymnastics. 
The  other  men  were  simply  lookers-on;  they  did  not  feel  the 
pain.  It  is  one  thing  to  observe  a  sufferer,  and  quite  another  to 
be  that  sufferer  himself.  The  Avords  of  the  sufferer  cause  him 
suffering ;  they  come  a  long  way,  they  struggle  forward  from  the 
very  centre  of  the  heart ;  they  are  coloured  with  blood ;  they  are 
accentuated  with  agony.  Keeping  this  fact  in  view,  we  must 
make  large  allowances  for  the  kind  of  utterance  in  which  Job 
indulged.  Bildad  had  but  to  answer — Job  had  to  suffer.  They 
who  view  grief  in  the  abstract,  they  who  have  only  to  lecture 
grief  or  account  for  it,  are  not  themselves  likely  to  speak  as  he 
will  speak  in  whose  soul  the  iron  is  far  thrust.  We  may  be 
tempted  to  lecture  Job.  The  only  thing  that  can  ever  make  us 
understand  the  Book  of  Job  is  to  be  in  something  like  the  situation 
of  Job  himself.  We  cannot  preach  ourselves  into  the  meaning : 
we  must  die  into  it. 

Bildad  charges  Job  with  running  off  into  mere  talk  : — 

"  How  long  wilt  thou  speak  these  things  ?  and  how  long  shall  the  words 
of  thy  mouth  be  like  a  strong  wind  ?  "  (v.  2). 


Jobviii.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD,  57 

To  Bildad  it  was  mere  rhetoric.  To  those  who  are  not  in 
keenest — that  is  to  say,  most  vital — sympathy  with  the  sufferer, 
all  that  the  sufferer  may  say  will  be  of  the  nature  of  mere  talk — 
a  rhetorical  evaporation — a  kind  of  suicide  in  eloquence.  So  it 
must  ever  be  in  all  kinds  of  suffering.  If  a  speaker  be  charged 
with  a  message  which  he  must  deliver,  being  perfectly  aware 
that  every  word  will  bring  back  insult,  sneer,  disbelief,  in  pro- 
portion as  he  feels  the  pain  of  his  mission  will  he  be  charged 
with  being  a  mere  verbal  craftsman,  having  skill  in  vr  cal  tricks, 
and  pleasing  himself  with  trope  and  image  and  appeal.  The 
kind  of  man  represented  by  Bildad  lives  in  all  'ages,  listens  to  all 
speakers,  treats  all  occasions  in  the  same  high  and  uncondescend- 
ing  manner.  What  is  Bildad  wanting  in  ?  He  is  wanting  in 
sympathy,  wherever  you  find  him.  Not  that  he  is  without 
feeling.  A  man  may  have  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  yet  have  no 
sympathy  in  his  heart,  because  the  tears  may  relate  to  cir- 
cumstances, accidents,  transient  phases  of  the  event,  and  the  soul 
may  be  all  the  while  out  of  sympathy  with  the  central  meaning, 
the  inner  and  divine  suggestion. 

Bildad  copied  Eliphaz.  We  find  in  him  precisely  the  same 
lofty  theological  tone,  the  same  design  always  to  appeal  to  the 
justice  of  God — the  immeasurable  righteousness  as  against  the 
measurable  sufferer.  The  tone 'of  the  third  verse  is  surely  not 
without  nobleness  : — "  Doth  God  pervert  judgment  ?  or  doth  the 
Almighty  pervert  justice  ?  "  As  much  as  to  say.  If  he  does  so  in 
this  instance,  it  is  the  first  time  he  ever  did  it.  A  man's  words 
may  be  right,  and  yet  the  tone  in  which  he  speaks  them  may 
fail  to  carry  the  words  to  the  mark  to  which  they  are  addressed. 
We  may  even  so  challenge  the  righteousness  of  God  as  to  make 
men  feel  its  burdensomeness.  We  cannot  hurl  the  whole  of  the 
righteousness  of  God  against  a  man  in  one  great  thunder-shock 
without  blowing  out  his  feeble  prayer  and  discouraging  him  in 
his  prostrate  attitude.  Even  righteousness  must  be  accommo- 
dated to  human  weakness  when  the  approach  of  it  is  intended  to 
be  not  a  threatening  but  a  gospel.  Then  there  are  hours  in 
which  we  cannot  bear  to  hear  about  righteousness,  law;  the 
words  themselves  are  tyrannous,  overwhelming  :  we  want  to 
hear  about  pity,  tenderness,  hope ;  and,  blessed  be  God,  pity, 


S8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobviii. 

tenderness,  and  hope  may  be  so  preached  as  still  to  involve  all 
that  is  grandest  and  most  enduring  in  the  divine  righteousness. 
We  are  not  preaching  righteousness  when  we  are  exercising 
severity.  Austerity  is  but  one  form  of  the  law.  When  the  law 
comes  to  be  properly  read  by  its  writer,  it  will  be  so  read  as  to 
discover  in  it  mercy,  and  hope,  and  pity,  and  love. 

Job's  two  comforters — for  only  two  have  spoken  up  to  this 
point — find  the  difficulty  of  applying  general  principles  to  par- 
ticular cases.  But  it  is  in  the  application  of  such  principles  to 
such  cases  that  true  spiritual  skill  is  discovered.  We  should 
frighten  the  world  by  preaching  righteousness  only.  We  should 
discourage  mankind  by  being  too  grandiloquent  upon  the  un- 
changeableness  of  mere  law.  Bildad  had  seized  the  idea  that 
God  was  righteous,  God  was  just,  whatever  God  did  was  beyond 
all  challenge  and  criticism,  and  with  this  .weapon  he  smote  the 
prostrate  patriarch.  His  principle  was  right ;  his  application  of 
it  was  defective.  To  tell  the  world  that  railway  accidents  are 
but  as  one  to  a  million  is  to  preach  a  very  comfortable  doctrine, 
but  it  is  not  at  all  comfortable  to  the  friends  of  the  one  man 
who  was  killed.  We  must,  therefore,  be  very  careful  how  we 
apply  general  statistics  to  individual  sufferers.  Who  would 
think  of  going  to  a  family  the  h«ad  of  which  had  been  killed 
in  a  railway  accident  to  preach  the  doctrine  that  after  all  such 
catastrophes  occur  very  rarely,  and  that  according  to  statistical 
authority  they  only  occur  as  one  to  a  million  of  the  population  ? 
What  a  comforting  doctrine  to  the  family  that  has  been  bereaved ! 
Better  keep  out  of  view  the  statistical  phase.  Better  proceed 
upon  another  line  altogether.  Better  say, — How  sad  the  case 
is ;  how  pitiful  the  whole  position  in  which  you  as  a  bereaved 
family  are  placed  I  But  let  us  see  what  we  can  of  brightness 
even  in  this  distress :  the  woe  is  very  great ;  the  loss  is,  humanly 
speaking,  irreparable,  but  even  here  perhaps,  by  patient  waiting, 
we  may  discover  some  alleviating  circumstance,  or  some  thought 
that  leads  in  the  direction  of  palliation  and  assuagement  of  the 
heart-pain.  A  tone  of  that  kind  may  reach  the  bereaved  heart, 
but  some  grand  statistical  demonstration  that  accidents  occur  but 
very  seldom  would  only  aggravate  the  suffering  it  was  clumsily 
intended  to  mitigate. 


Jobviii.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD.  59 

Bildad  will  put  the  case  with  some  discernment,  but  may 
perhaps  lose  himself  in  the  very  nicety  of  his  discrimination. 
In  the  ministry  of  sympathy  we  must  not  be  too  discerning, 
discriminate,  critical,  and  hair-splitting.  Bildad  ventures  upon 
very  dehcate  ground  in  the  fourth  verse : — 

"  If  thy  children  have  sinned  against  him,  and  he  have  cast  them  away 

for  their  transgression." 

Well,  even  there  Bildad  might  shelter  himself  behind  Job :  for 
did  not  Job  say  in  the  first  instance,  and  may  he  not  have  given 
some  indication  of  it  to  his  friends,  that  "  it  may  be  that  my 
sons  have  sinned "  ?  They  were  at  all  events  taken  away. 
Bildad  assumes  that  they  may  have  been  taken  away  on  account 
of  their  transgression.  But,  he  would  say,  that  is  over ;  all  that 
is  past,  and  beyond  recall :  it  may  be  as  thou  hast  thought  in 
thine  heart  that  thy  children  have  sinned,  and  that  God  has 
punished  them  in  the  very  midst  of  their  iniquity.  Now  he 
comes  to  lay  the  emphasis  upon  the  word  "  thou,"  in  the  fifth 
verse : — "  If  thou  wouldest  seek  unto  God  betimes."  As  a 
general  rule,  such  a  word  as  "  thou  "  is  rather  to  be  slurred  than 
pronounced  with  weight  of  emphasis  or  sharpness  of  accent. 
It  is  but  a  secondary  word  in  a  sentence,  and  is  to  be  spoken 
trippingly  by  the  tongue,  and  almost  lost  in  the  vocal  exercise ; 
but  as  spoken  in  the  argument  of  Bildad,  the  word  "  thou "  is 
the  emphatic  word  in  the  sentence,  and  is  meant  to  balance  the 
word  "  children "  in  the  first  part  of  the  argument :  If  thy 
children  have  sinned  and  been  taken  away,  who  can  help  it  ? 
The  circumstance  is  beyond  all  amendment  and  reparation ;  but 
if  thou — still  a  living  man — if  thou  wouldest  seek  unto  God,  if 
thou  wert  pure  and  upright,  the  case  might  be  wholly  different. 
So  Bildad  fixes  his  eyes  upon  the  point  of  hope.  He  says, 
perhaps  not  flippantly, — The  children  are  gone,  why  mourn  over 
their  graves  ?  Weeping  cannot  recall  them ;  it  is  not  in  human 
power  to  recover  those  that  are  dead ;  therefore  betake  thyself 
to  the  point  of  hope;  that  point  of  hope  is  in  thyself,— if  thou 
wouldest  seek  unto  God,  if  thou  wert  pure  and  upright ; — it  is 
from  that  point  that  the  new  departure  must  begin.  Bildad's 
speech  is  in  these  respects  full  of  wisdom.  He  points  Job  in 
the  right  direction.     *'  If  thou  wouldest  seek  unto  God  betimes." 


6o  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [JobviiL 

We  always  fall  back  upon  God  in  grief.  The  word  ''God" 
comes  easily  into  our  speech  in  the  dark  and  wintry  night-time 
of  desolation,  bereavement,  solitude.  Even  atheists  negatively 
pray.  There  are  hours  when  we  are  not  afraid  to  speak  the 
name  of  God.  Men  who  would  never  mention  it  in  business, 
or  on  the  highways  of  life,  who  would  never  dream  of  uttering 
it  whilst  they  were  driving  in  the  golden  chariot  of  abundance 
and  prosperity,  may  whine  it  out  to  doctor,  or  nurse,  or  ghostly 
ministrant,  in  the  black  night-time  of  conscious  self-helplessness. 
Is  God,  then,  not  more  than  what  is  known  as  righteous  ?  Are  not 
his  eyes  full  of  tears  ?  Is  not  the  mighty  hand  capable  of  express- 
ing itself  in  softest  touch  ?  If  men  have  taken  liberties  with  God, 
what  if  God  himself  may  be  partly  accountable  for  this  ?  If  he 
had  struck  the  universe  with  a  lightning-rod  every  time  it  sinned, 
the  universe  might  not  have  trifled  with  him ;  if  for  every 
iniquity  there  had  been  an  instantaneous  and  everlastmg  hell, 
creation  might  have  been  held  upon  its  good  behaviour.  But 
good  behaviour  founded  upon  a  philosophy  of  fear  is  only  vice 
in  a  fit  of  dejection. 

Bildad  instructs  Job  in  the  right  tone.  In  the  fitth  verse  he 
uses  the  word  "supplication."  That  English  word  does  not 
give  the  full  meaning  of  the  speaker.  In  the  word  which 
Bildad  used  there  was  a  red  line  of  blood, — there  was  a  cry  for 
mercy,  there  was  a  confession  of  error,  there  was  a  music  of 
contrition.  Job  was  not  called  to  write  out  a  legal  document, 
to  go  into  court  and  take  his  stand  upon  it,  and  to  argue  his  case 
before  the  bar  of  the  Almighty,  with  the  dignit}'  of  an  injured 
man,  and  with  the  eloquence  of  one  who  was  in  a  righteous 
passion  ;  he  was  called  upon  to  fall  down,  to  fasten  his  eyes  in 
the  earth,  to  be  the  publican  of  the  gospel  before  the  time,  to 
say,  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!  Thus,  it  is  not  enough 
to  come  in  the  right  direction — namely,  to  God— we  must  come 
in  the  right  tone,  with  the  right  quality  of  words ;  we  must 
bring  with  us  not  argument,  defence,  and  the  spirit  of  exultation, 
but  weakness,  self-renunciation,  self-helplessness,  and  trust  in 
the  living  God.     He  is  merciful  as  well  as  just. 

Bildad  then  assures  Job   of  a  grand  issue : — If  thou  wilt  do 


Jobviii.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD,  6i 

this,  "  though  thy  beginning  was  small,  yet  thy  latter  end  should 
greatly  increase"  (v.  7).  All  beginnings  are  small.  When 
does  God  ever  begin  at  the  supreme  end  or  at  the  point  of 
culmination  ?  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed.  The  coming  of  the  day  is  a  little  whitening  of  the  east, 
but  that  little  dawn  means  that  the  whole  arch  of  heaven  shall 
presently  be  bright  with  ineffable  glory.  Do  not  judge  by  the 
beginning.  Rather  have  fear  of  any  beginning  that  is  large, 
overwhelming.  Better  begin  low,  and  proceed  little  by  little, 
to  the  whole  height  of  God's  generous  purpose. 

Now  in  his  further  speech  Bildad  is  philosophical  and 
strong : — 

"  For  inquire,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  former  age,  and  prepare  thyself  to  the 
search  of  their  fathers :  (for  we  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  know  nothing, 
because  our  days  upon  earth  are  a  shadow  :)  shall  not  they  teach  thee,  and 
tell  thee,  and  utter  words  out  of  their  heart  ?"  (w.  8-10). 

This  argument  has  often  been  misunderstood.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  in  the  ninth  verse  Bildad  was  showing  the  empti- 
ness and  worthlessness  of  all  human  knowledge;  the  word  "we" 
has  been  supposed  to  include  the  whole  of  the  human  race ;  then 
the  text  would  read  :  For  all  men — whenever  they  have  lived, 
whoever  they  may  be — all  men  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  know 
nothing.  That  may  be  in  a  sense  true,  but  it  was  not  the  truth 
spoken  by  Bildad.  The  speaker  was  meaning  that  the  men  who 
were  then  waiting  upon  Job  in  a  visit  of  sympathy  were  but 
moderns,  contemporaries,  children  of  yesterday ;  whatever  they 
might  say  would  have  upon  it  the  weakness  of  novelty.  Bildad 
therefore  says,  Take  no  account  of  us,  we  are  hardly  born ;  but 
search  back  in  history,  a  century,  ten  centuries ;  get  back  as  far 
as  you  can,  and  let  the  days  that  are  venerable  teach  thee.  It 
is  marvellous  how  much  store  has  been  set  on  antiquity  by  the 
greatest  thinkers,  whether  Christian  or  pagan.  Aristotle  says, 
"  The  more  ancient  a  witness  is  the  more  creditable  and  the  more 
credible."  Aristotle  was  not  a  Bible  prophet,  and  therefore  his 
name  may  be  quoted  with  some  effect  to  those  who  think  that 
all  men  out  of  the  Bible  were  necessarily  great  men.  A  Latin 
judge  has  said,  "  Nothing  can  be  more  ancient  to  me."  What 
did  he  mean  by  the  word  "  ancient "  in  such  a  case  as  that    ?  He 


6a  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobviii. 

meant  nothing  could  be  more  trustworthy,  reputable,  respectable. 
The  farther  you  go  back  in  history  the  farther  you  get  away 
from  the  refinements  of  a  technical  civilisation — from  that  miser- 
able casuistry  which  can  make  the  worse  appear  the  better 
cause — from  that  skill  in  dialectics  whose  business  it  is  to  twist 
meanings  and  pervert  purposes  and  discolour  all  that  appeals  to 
the  senses.  But. is  there  not  a  meaning  still  deeper  than  that? 
Certainly.  In  all  this  wish  to  go  back,  and  to  have  antiquity  on 
one's  side,  lies  the  sublime  doctrine  that  out  of  eternity  must 
come  the  rule  and  proper  direction  of  time.  Why  do  we  not 
amplify  all  instincts,  and  all  solid  reasonings,  and  all  well-tested 
arguments,  and  give  .them  their  highest  aspect  and  their  com- 
pletest  force?  We  are  accustomed  to  consult  the  antiquary 
upon  certain  difficult  questions.  The  most  learned  judge  asks. 
Is  there  a  precedent?  The  most  profoundly  philosophical 
student  in  law,  in  history,  in  philosophy,  is  delighted  to  find  that 
a  thousand  years  ago — yea,  five  thousand  years  since — judgment 
was  pronounced  upon  this  very  case,  whatever  it  may  be. 
Nothing  will  satisfy  the  truly  scholarly  and  disciplined  mind 
but  getting  right  back  to  origins.  Such  a  mind  must  have  a 
Book  of  Genesis  in  its  literature.  This  is  supposed  to  be  right, 
and  we  are  not  disposed  to  question  its  rectitude ;  but  what  is 
the  true  interpretation  of  this  ?  Why  this  love  of  antiquity  ? 
Why  this  searching  back  from  precedent  to  precedent  ?  Why 
this  quest  of  origin  ?  The  meaning  is  that  we  want  to  hear 
what  eternity  has  to  say.  When  allusion  is  made  to  our  sin, 
we  cannot  be  contented  with  modern  instances,  and  novel  dis- 
courses and  theories ;  we  must  be  taken  back  to  Adam,  beyond 
him :  what  waits  us  there  in  that  deep  depth  of  eternity  ?  This, 
that  the  Lamb  was  slain  from  before  the  foundation  of  the  earth  ;• 
in  other  words,  the  atonement  wrought  out  by  Christ,  for  the 
redemption  of  men  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  was  not  a  point 
in  history;  it  was  the  very  centre  and  supreme  thought  of 
eternity.  It  is  only  because  truth  is  eternal  that  it  can  accom- 
modate itself  to  passing  phases  and  immediate  experiences. 
Truth  did  not  come  into  the  world  at  a  given  point  in  history ; 
it  is  the  expression  of  eternity ;  it  is  an  Incarnation  of  Godhead ; 
it  is  a  visitant  from  the  upper  spaces.  This  is  the  reason  why 
men  cannot  get  rid  of  it.     If  it  were  the  latest  invention,  it  might 


Jobviii.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD.  63 

be  superseded ;  if  it  were  the  discovery  of  a  single  mind,  some 
greater  mind  might  arise  that  would  overthrow  it;  but  truth 
comes  up  from  eternity,  fills  the  little  day  to  overflow,  and 
passes  on  from  age  to  age,  the  contemporary  of  every  century, 
because  the  expression  of  eternity. 

Now  Bildad  resorts  to  the  final  point  of  Eliphaz.  He  concludes 
his  discourse  with  words  of  promise.  Having  thrown  a  proverb 
or  two  at  the  head  of  Job ;  as,  for  example,  "  Can  the  rush  grow 
up  without  mire  ?  Can  the  flag  grow  without  water  ?  "  having 
discoursed,  it  may  be,  in  a  satirical  vein,  upon  water-plants, 
showing  that  they  are  only  green  and  flourishing  so  long  as  they 
are  full  of  water,  and  that  when  the  water  ceases  their  greenness 
fades;  and  having  told  him,  needlessly,  that  "the  hypocrite's 
hope  shall  perish,"  for  there  was  no  hypocrisy  in  Job ;  having 
touched  upon  the  frail  tenement  of  the  spider  as  a  type  of  the 
refuge  of  men  who  tell  lies,  he  refers  to  one  who  "is  green 
before  the  sun,  and  his  branch  shooteth  forth  in  his  garden,"  a 
heart  that  is  rooted  in  God,  a  soul  that  lives  in  eternity,  so  that, 
come  winter,  come  summer,  come  famine  of  food,  or  thirst  of 
water,  come  what  may,  this  heart  looks  on  to  the  stone-house, 
the  rock  that  cannot  be  shaken  ;  and  having  wrought  himself  up 
into  this  noble  ecstasy  Bildad  concludes  his  speech  with  words 
of  comfort : — 

"  Behold,  this  is  the  joy  of  his  way,  and  out  of  the  earth  shall  others 
grow.  Behold,  God  will  not  cast  away  a  perfect  man,  neither  will  he  help 
the  evil  doers  :  till  he  fill  thy  mouth  with  laughing,  and  thy  lips  with 
rejoicing.  They  that  hate  thee  shall  be  clothed  with  shame;  and  the 
dwelling  place  of  the  wicked  shall  come  to  nought "  (vv.  19-22.) 

Bildad  began  with  criticism,  he  ended  with  sympathy.  Who 
could  do  otherwise  ?_  The  sight  was  heart-rending.  He  who  would 
have  taken  his  stand  upon  eternal  principles  was  forced  down 
into  pity  and  thoughtfulness  and  human  consideration,  when  he 
saw  the  man  smitten  all  over  with  sore  boils,  without  one  healthy 
spot  upon  his  whole  flesh;*  robbed  by  thieves  without  name; 
smitten,  crushed,  forsaken,  an  offence  to  those  nearest  and  dearest 
to  him.  Sometimes  we  are  thus  forced  into  sympathy.  Some- 
times there   is   more    strength    in   our   argument   than   in  our 

*  See  note  on  next  page. 


64  7HE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobviii. 

sympathy,  yet  we  cannot  withdraw  without  some  words  of 
promise.  This  is  not  so  with  Jesus  Christ,  who  comes  to  us 
in  our  distress  and  helplessness  and  uttermost  misery.  He  does 
not  speak  words  only :  he  dies  to  redeem  us.  Himself  bare 
our  sins,  carried  our  iniquities ;  yea,  he  took  to  himself  our 
diseases,  he  was  loaded  with  our  putridity,  our  deathfulness,  he 
took  it  all.  That  was  sympathy!  Not  to  talk  to  your  grief, 
but  to  absorb  it ;  not  to  enumerate  your  diseases,  but  to  transfer 
them  to  himself.  This  is  a  great  mystery;  but  a  mystery  falls 
becomingly  into  the  whole  history  of  Christ.  It  is  a  mystery 
not  of  darkness  but  of  light;  a  mystery  not  as  indicating  a 
difficulty  of  the  intellect,  but  as  pointing  to  a  supreme  effort 
of  the  heart, — how  to  die,  and  yet  to  live;  how  to  take  the 
iniquities  and  diseases  of  the  world,  and  to  bear  them  away. 
Ask  us  to  explain  it,  and  we  say  we  have  no  words.  Speech 
dies  at  that  point.  Ask  us  if  we  feel  it,  and  we  say,  radiantly, 
gratefully.  Yes,  we  feel  it  all,  and  know  it  to  be  true. 


NOTE. 

Job's  disease. — The  opinion  that  the  malady  under  which  Job  suffered 
was  elephantiasis,  or  black  leprosy,  is  so  ancient,  that  it  is  found,  according 
to  Origen's  Hexapla,  in  the  rendering  which  one  of  the  Greek  versions  has 
made  of  ch.  ii.  7.  It  was  also  entertained  by  Abulfeda  {Hist.  Anteisl.,  p.  26)  ; 
and  in  modern  times  by  the  best  scholars  generally.  The  passages  which 
are  considered  to  indicate  this  disease  are  found  in  the  description  of  his 
skin  burning  from  head  to  foot,  so  that  he  took  a  potsherd  to  scrape  himself 
(ii.  7,  8)  ;  in  its  being  covered  with  putrefaction  and  crusts  of  earth,  and 
being  at  one  time  stiff  and  hard,  while  at  another  it  cracked  and  discharged 
fluid  (vii.  5)  ;  in  the  offensive  breath  which  drove  away  the  kindness  of 
attendants  (xix.  17);  in  the  restless  nights,  which  were  either  sleepless  or 
scared  with  frightful  dreams  (vii.  13,  I4;  xxx.  17);  in  general  emaciation 
(xvi.  8)  ;  and  in  so  intense  a  loathing  of  the  burden  of  life,  that  strangling 
and  death  were  preferable  to  it  (vii.  15). 

In  this  picture  of  Job's  sufferings,  the  state  of  the  skin  is  not  so  distinctly 
described  as  to  enable  us  to  identify  the  disease  with  elephantiasis  in  a 
rigorous  sense.  The  difficulty  is  also  increased  by  the  fact  that  JTIE^  (shechm) 
is  generally  rendered  "  boils."  But  that  word,  according  to  its  radical  sense, 
only  means  burning;  inflammation — a  hot  sense  of  pain,  which,  although  it 
attends  boils  and  abscesses,  is  common  to  other  cutaneous  irritations.  More- 
over, the  fact  that  Job  scraped  himself  with  a  potsherd  is  irreconcilable  with 
the  notion  that  his  body  was  covered  with  boils  or  open  sores,  but  agrees 
very  well  with  the  thickened  state  of  the  skin  which  characterises  this 
disease. 

In  this,  as  in  most  other  Biblical  diseases,  there  is  too  little  distinct 
description  of  the  symptoms  to  enable  us  to  determine  the  precise  malady 
intended.  But  the  general  character  of  the  complaint  under  which  Job 
suffered  bears  a  greater  resemblance  to  elephantiasis  than  to  any  other 
disease. — Kitto's  Cyclopoedia  of  Biblical  Literature. 


Chapters  ix.,  x. 

JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD. 

I. 

IT  is  supposed  by  some  that  there  is  a  tone  of  satire  in  the 
opening  words  of  Job's  reply  to  Bildad.  Those  opening 
words  are,  '*  I  know  it  is  so  of  a  truth."  The  words  may  be 
so  read  as  to  exclude  the  satire,  but  those  who  have  looked  most 
deeply  into  these  things  have  discovered  in  these  terms  a  tone 
of  sarcasm,  the  interpretation  being — I  know  that  it  is  so  of  a 
truth ;  so  obviously  true  that  even  you,  blind  comforters,  have 
actually  seen  it;  the  justice  of  God  is  so  patent  that  even  you 
could  not  pass  by  without  observing  it  I  Whether  Job  is  satirical 
here  or  not,  we  know  that  Job  could  be  satirical,  and  the  pro- 
bability is  that  he  began  thus  early  to  jeer  the  men  who  mis- 
understood him. 


Bildad  had  made  a  grand  appeal  in  one  point ;  he  said  to  Job, 
Take  no  notice  of  what  we  say ;  we  are  but  of  yesterday,  and 
know  nothing  :  judge  us  to  be  right  in  so  far  as  we  represent  the 
consolidated  wisdom  of  the  ages ;  go  back  to  the  fathers ;  consult 
ancient  history :  see  how  from,  day  to  day,  and  from  century  to 
century,  experience  has  gone  in  one  direction,  and  do  not  despise 
the  voice  of  time.  That  was  a  wonderful  thing  to  say  so  far  back 
in  history  as  the  period  at  which  Bildad  lived.  We  now  call 
Bildad  and  his  friends  part  of  the  ancients,  but  Bildad  at  his  time 
referred  Job  to  the  centuries  then  gone ;  and  so  far  his  argument 
was  rational,  sound,  and  conclusive.  Men  ought  not  to  despise 
history.  The  judgments  of  God  are  written  in  the  records  of 
time]  There  is  an  external  bioie,  or  a  tsible  external  to  the  Book 
which  claims  that  high  name — a  Bible  of  Providence,  of  conscious 
guidance  of  life,  of  obvious  shaping  of  events,  and  a  leading  forth 

VOL.   XI.  .  5 


66  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobix.,x. 

of  history  to  certain  issues  and  effects,  the  reality  and  the  bene- 
ficence of  which  cannot  be  questioned.  But  Job,  accepting  this 
view,,  calls  the  attention  of  his  friends  to  a  deeper  truth  than  they 
hiid  ytt  prrrriyed :  *^  How  should  man  be  just  with  Go^? " 
(ix.  2).  The  emphasis  of  that  inquiry  is  in  the  first  word — 
*^  how  "  :  t:elate^the  method,  tell  the  pjai^^  prndn^^f^  the  key  oFthis 
mysterious  lock ;  it  is  easy  for  you  to  preach  about  the  justice 

and    the    UPrightngg;^   nf  HnH^    ^nH    f^agv   for   vnn    fr>   rhirlp    m^^r 

want  of  integrity,  but  will  you  tell  me  how  man  should  be  just 
with  God?  This  is  a  question  which  God  himself  alone  can 
answer.  And  this  is  the  difficulty — *'  If  he  will  contend  with 
him,  he  cannot  answer  him  one  of  a  thousand  "  (ix.  3).  The 
me:ining  is  this :  I  am  right  enough  in  many  points  )  I  know, 
says  Job,  that  I  am  an  upright  man,  as  the  world  judges  upright- 
ness ;  not  one  of  my  contemporaries  can  bring  a  single  charge 
against  me,  or  stand  before  me  for  one  moment  in  fair  criticism 
of  conduct :  when  I  turn  to  God  with  that  argument,  even  if  he 
were  to  admit  it,  so  far  as  I  present  the  case,  he  would  startle 
me,  he  would  madden  me,  by  pointing  out  a  thousand  instances 
in  which  I  had  utterly  failed  to  obey  the  law  of  truth  and  walk 
by  the  light  of  wisdom.  So  Job  takes  up  this-^strong  .positionj 
saying  of  himself :  I  know  I  am  respectable ;  I  am  well  aware 
how  I  have  guided  my  family  ;  I  know  that  my  house  is  a  house 
of  prayer ;  I  could  stand  up  with  the  whitest  and  best  of  you, 
and  if  the  judgment  lay  between  ourselves  possibly  you  wouTd 
vote  me  to  the  primacy;  but  the  question  does  not  lie  between 
you  and  me,  as  who  should  say,  Who  is  the  better  of  two  men  ? 
The  question  is,  '*How  should  a  man  be  just  with  God  ?"  for  God 
is  omniscient.  Take  a  beautiful  action  to  him,  and  he  will  thus 
handle  it,  saying.  Outwardly  it  is  comely  enough ;  it  is  well 
coloured,  it  is  excellently  shaped;  it  would  pass  muster  before 
any  tribunal  ever  constructed  by  human  wisdom — but,  see ! 
Then  opening  the  action  he  would  show  that  every  motive  is 
perverted,  or  corrupt,  or  at  least  partially  wrong ;  and  he  would 
so  handle  and  analyse  our  very  lowliest  prayer  that  we  should 
burn  with  shame  to  think  we  had  ever  uttered  it  at  his  altar. 
Job  thus  continues,  if  we  may  paraphrase  his  argument :  You 
take  a  narrow  view  of  life ;  you  talk  about  circumstances,  actions, 
reputableness,  respectability;  but  since  I  have  been  thus  afflicted, 


w 


Jobix,x.]         yOB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD,  67 

and  have  been  looking  round  and  round  within  myself  for  causes, 
I  have  come  to  see  that  if  I  would  contend  with  God,  I  could  not 
answer   him    one  of  a  thousand  r  before  I  had    this    affliction  I 
.Jhought  I  was  faultless,  but  these  distresses  have  revealed  me  to" 
myself:  up  to  this  time  I  had  taken  a  wrong  view,  because  a 
narrow  or   superficial  view,  but  now  I  see    that  I  must  get  at 
realities,  essences,  innennost  motives,  springs  and  impulses,  and 
cohduct  the  judgment  not  in  the  market-place  but  in  the  sanc- 
tuary.    It  is  a  great  deal  that  Job  should  have  thus  learned  the 
profoundest  of  all  lessons.     Thi^  is  the  lesson  which  the  world 
has  yet  to  learn.     The  world  will  continue  to  victimise  itself  bj' 
its  own  respectability  to  the  very  end.     The  world  will  not  dis- 
cuss motives.     The  best  of  men  would  say.  We  must  let  motives 
alone.     Whereasjever^thing  depends  upon  the  motive.     Jbiot^e 
action  but  the  motive  determines  the  quality  ofliJepthe  issue  and 
the  destiny  of  existence.     But,  so  pressed,  who  can  stand  now  ? 
Herein  is  the  meaning  of  the  woeful  declaration,  "  There  is  none 
righteous,  no,  not  one."     If  there   could  be  one    righteous,  the 
whole  world    might    become  righteous,  and  Jesus  Christ  might 
come  to  be  understood  as  unnecessary,  or  he  might  be  super- 
seded.    If  there  could  be  one  good  man,  in  God's  sense  of  that 
term,  the  cross  of  Christ  would  be  a  mistake — a  blunder.     Qnly 
affliction  can^d^xe^  men  imojtiis  analysis  of  rnptives.     It  is  so 
easy  to  get  credit  for  good  actions,  transient  courtesies,  inexpen- 
sive civilities,  outsides  that  cost  nothing ;  and  it  is  harder  than 
dying  to  force  the  mind  to  self-analysis,  and  bind  the  heart  down 
to  self-judgment.     The  heart  is  afraid  of  itself.     No  man  could 
see  himself  and  live.     Where,  then,  is  help  to  be  found  ?     Hear 
the  words  of  the  Lord  through  the  mouth  of  his  prophet — "  O 
Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself;  but  in  me  is  thine  help.** 

What  a  noble  view  of  God  Job  is  enabled  to  present ;  Eliphaz 
and  Bildad  have  spoken  highly  of  the  Deity,  but  when  Job  comes 
to  speak  of  him  there  is  an  addition  of  tenderness  to  sublimity ; 
in  other  words.  Job  does  not  discourse  as  a  mere  dialectician,  of 
man  of  eloquence ;  he  makes  his  words  rich  with  unction,  precious 
with  pathos;  he  lifts  human  speech  to  new  levels  and  new 
dignities.  From  the  first  verse  to  the  twelfth  of  the  ninth 
chapter  we  have  Job's  description  of  God,  a  description  which 


68  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobix.,x. 

no  man  could  have  spoken  so  eloquently  il  the  very  life  of  him 
had   not  been  crushed  out  by  divine  judgment,  and  by  all  the 
^discipline   which    tests    life   at    every    point.     Job    makes    his 
knowledge  contribute   to   the  expression   of  his   theology  : — the 
mountains  are  moved  by  God,  and  they  know  not,  they  cannot 
account  for  their  trembling ;  they  vibrate,  they  shiver,  as  if  in 
pain,   and   cannot   tell   why   they   are   startled    from   their   old 
decorum  :  they  are  overturned  in    his    anger,  and   they   cannot 
account   for   their  removal    or    their  destruction.     The  earth    is 
shaken  out  of  her  place,  and  the  pillars  thereof  tremble  ;  the  sun 
is  ordered  about  like  an  inferior  servant,  and  the  stars  are  sealed 
with  the  black  seal  of  thunderous  clouds,  so  that   they  cannot 
shine — Arcturus,  the  great  northern  bear  that  has  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  ages  ;  Orion,  a  symbol  of  the  chained  Lucifer  who 
rebelled  in  heaven,  and  who  is  now  held  in  leash  to  be  looked 
at  and  wondered  about;  Pleiades,  too  numerous   to  be  named, 
and  the  chambers  of  the  south — a  general  phrase  by  which  he 
indicates  the  undiscovered  astronomical  territory,  the  great  south, 
rich  with  unnamed  stars,  wealthy  with  innumerable  planets, — 
V  chambers  of  mystery,  chambers  of  majesty.     This  is  the  God  to 
<^  whom  Job  has  to  justify  himself :  nor  is  he  wrong  in  making 
P  natural  theology  the  basis  of  divine  judgment  as  to  conscience 
\and  action  :  for   is  not  God   critical   in  nature  ?     Does   he  not 
sharpen  the  least  point  upon  the  grass-blade  as  if  he  had  spent 
eternity  in  perfecting  the  completeness  of  that  point  ?     Has  not 
the  microscope  revealed  God  as  the  minutest  critic  as  well    as 
an  infinite  builder  ?     The  argument  is  that  if  God  is  so  particular, 
definite,  critical,  in  all  these  natural  appointments,  who  can  go 
before   him,  and  say,  Lo,  this   is  my  conduct :  is  it  not  good  ? 
He  will  judge   it  by   his  own  workmanship,  and   we   "cannot 
answer  him  one  of  a  thousand."     The  greater  he  is  the  less  we 
are ;  the   wiser   the  God  the  more   terrific  and  destructive  his 
criticism,  if  we  seek   to    impose  upon  him   by  presenting  the 
outward   as   a   veritable   image   of  the   inward.      Surely   Job's 
affliction  is  beginning  to  tell  well  already.     He  is  getting  among 
the   deeper    truths.      He    is   not    a   hastening   reader,    merely 
glancing  at  title  pages,  and  running  through  them  as  if  he  had 
something   better   to    do.      He    is   going   quite    profoundly    into 
things.     What   if  at   the  end   he   should   prove   to   be  a  well- 


<? 


Jobix.,x.]         ^OB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD,  69 

schooled  scholar,  and  should  come  out  of  this  black  affliction 
medalled  all  over,  and  crowned  as  God's  choicest  student  ?  We 
must  wait. 

Now  another  view  is  presented.  Supposing  the  argument  or 
controversy  to  be  between  men  and  God,  what  shall  the  upshot 
be?  Reduce  hfe  to  a  controversy  between  the  divine  and  the 
human,  and  what  will  it  come  to  ?     It  will  come  to  this  : 

"For  he  breaketh  me  with  a  tempest,  and  multiplieth  my  wounds  without 
cause.  He  will  not  suffer  me  to  take  my  breath,  but  fiUeth  me  with  bitter- 
ness. If  I  speak  of  strength,  lo,  he  is  strong :  and  if  of  judgment,  who 
shall  set  me  a  time  to  plead  ?  If  I  justify  myself,  mine  own  mouth  shall 
condemn  me :  if  I  say,  I  am  perfect,  it  shall  also  prove  me  perverse.  Though 
I  were  perfect,  yet  would  I  not  know  my  soul :  I  would  despise  my  life  " 
(ix.  17-21). 

We  cannot  successfully  battle  with  God.  The  only  thing  to 
be  done  when  God  arises  to  judgment  is  'to  fall  into  his  hands, 
speechlessly,  trustingly,  lovingly,  and  when  we  come  to  the  point 
where  we  may  speak,  to  say— God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner! 
It  is  useless  to  oppose  our  little  strength  to  God's,  for  our 
strength  is  the  strength  of  a  rush,  and  God's  strength  is 
almightiness.  If  we  come  to  self-justification  he  can  excel  us 
in  criticism,  he  can  point  out  our  errors,  he  can  show  us  how 
our  whitest  and  most  beautiful  deed  is  full  of  corruption  and 
rottenness;  and  if  we  were  to  attempt  to  justify  ourselves,  we 
could  not  believe  ourselves,  that  is  to  say,  we  should  give 
ourselves  the  lie  when  we  had  rounded  off  every  period  of 
argument,  and  wrought  up  to  a  grand  culmination  our  rhetorical 
defence.  An  awful  power  is  that  which  is  within  us  1  It  would 
seem  as  if  God's  vicar  were  resident  within  every  man, — that 
terrible  conscience  which  makes  cowards  of  us  all ;  that  quality 
so  like  divinity ;  that  voice  so  much  other  than  human  ;  that 
ghost  which  makes  us  tremble  at  midday  as  if  it  were  midnight. 
"^This  is  the  presence  of  God  in  the  soul.  We  may  endeavour 
to  pervert  it,  corrupt  it,  bribe  it,  affright  it,  but  it  comes  up  out 
of  the  depths,  and  menaces  us  with  dignity  and  calmness. 

Then  what  would  the  controversy  come  to  morally  ?     It  would 

come  to  confusion  and  error  : 

"  This  is  one  thing,  therefore  I  said  it,  He  destroyeth  the  perfect  and  the 
wicked.     If  the  scourge  slay  suddenly,  he  will  laugh  at  the  trial  of  the 


70  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobix.,x. 

innocent.     The  earth  is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked:  he  covereth 
the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof;  if  not,  where,  and  who  is  he?"  (ix.  22-24). 

That  is  what  spiritual  controversy  comes  to  when  a  man 
tries  to  argue  out  the  whole  case  within  the  range  of  his 
own  wisdom  and  skill;  in  other  words,  he  makes  continual 
blunders ;  he  does  not  discriminate  between  right  and  wrong, 
between  the  right  hand  and  the  left ;  he  is  misled  by  particulars, 
he  is  victimised  by  details,  he  is  befooled  by  accidents ;  he  does 
not  grasp  the  situation  with  the  genius  which  is  befitting  the 
highest  spiritual  education.     But  what  of  self-help  ? — 

"If  I  say,  I  will  forget  my  complaint,  I  will  leave  off  my  heaviness,  and 
comfort  myself :  I  am  afraid  of  all  my  sorrows,  I  know  that  thou  wilt  not 
hold  me  innocent.  If  I  be  wicked,  why  then  labour  I  in  vain  ?  If  I  wash 
myself  with  snow  water,  and  make  my  hands  never  so  clean;  yet  shalt 
thou  plunge  me  in  the  ditch,  and  mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me " 
(ix.  27-31). 

It  will  come  to  nothing.      See   how   Job's   education   is   being 
completed.     He  will  be  almost  an  evangelical  preacher  before  he 
is  done.     He  has  got  hold  of  God  by  the  right  end.     He  is  no 
longer  moving  to  and  fro  in  uncertainty,  but  has  got  such  a  grip 
of  three  or  four  fundamental  truths  that  he  will  become  almost 
a  Paul,  a  John,   before  he  finishes  this  tragical  education.     No 
man  can  cleanse.,  himself  so  as  to  be  fit  to  appear  before_i£od. 
All  our  invented  catharismsT^ouFchemicancleansings,  and  little 
scientific  venturings,  in  the  direction   of  self-preparation,   must 
come  to  nothing :  if  I  wash  myself  with  snow  water,  and  make 
my  hands  never  so  clean  with  potash,  with  lye,  yet  wilt  thou 
plunge  me  in  the  ditch,  and  when  I  come  up  out  of  the  ditch  my 
own  clothes  will  run  away  from  me,  my  own  clothes  shall  abhor 
me;  the  coat  I  put  off  in  order  that  I  might  cleanse  myself  will 
after  thou  hast  plunged  me  in  the  ditch  disown  me,  and  ask  to 
be  worn  by  some  better  man.     To  these  conclusions  we   must 
come  if  the  gospel  is  to  be  any  use  to  us.   ,  Until  we  know  what 
corruption   is  we  cannot   know   the  meaning  of  God's    offer  of 
holiness.     It  is  useless  for  any  man  who  imagines  he  can  recover 
his  respectability  to  come  to  church.     If  he  persist  stubbornly 
in    that   conviction    everything    will    be    lost    upon    him ;    noble 
prayer,   noble   music,   reading   of  the   word    divine,    exposition, 
expostulation,  entreaty  tender  enough  for  tears, — all  will  be  lost 


Jobix.,x.]         ^OB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD.  71 

like  rain  upon  the  barren  sand.  The  first  condition,  therefore, 
is  that  we  should  be  in  a  right  relation  to  God,  and  that  right 
relation  is  one  of  consdous  guilt,  conscious  self-helplessness,  and 
perfect  willingness  to  be  instructed,  as  if  we  were  little  children, 
in  the  -yvay  of  God's  salvation. 

Job  is  the  man  to  come  upon  ulterior  truths,  without  knowing 
the  full  range  of  what  he  is  saying.  In  the  thirty-third  verse, 
for  example,  Job  exclaims,  '*  Neither  is  there  any  daysman 
betwixt  us,  that  night  lay  his  hand  upon  us  both."  We  need 
not  force  this  word  daysman,  or  umpire,  into  full  evangelical 
significance;  at  the  same  time  there  is  no  need  why  we  should 
pass  it  by  as  if  it  had  no  special  meaning.  Job  has  come  to 
this  position,  that  he  feels  that  if  he  is  to  be  understood  by  God, 
or  if  God  is  to  be  understood  by  him,  or  if  ever  the  controversy 
is  to  be  ended,  there  must  be  a  middle  man.  Job  says  in  eff'ect, 
I  can  say  no  more :  I  have  used  all  my  best  words  and  all  my 
ripest  arguments;  I  have  moaned  and  I  have  prayed,  I  have 
expostulated  and  I  have  gone  well-nigh  to  defiance,  and  I  have 
almost  charged  God  with  injustice  in  his  inscrutable  dealing  with 
me;  now  I  am  tired — I  can  add  no  more;  if  ever  this  tumult  is 
to  be  calmed  an  arbiter  must  arise  who  can  lay  one  hand  upon 
God  and  another  hand  upon  myself,  and  speak  to  us  both,  and 
make  us  understand  the  common  message.  Are  we  to  dismiss 
such  words  as  a  mere  trope  ?  Or  are  we  to  accept  them  in  the 
light  of  what  we  now  know — the  fuller  providence,  and  the  fuller 
disclosure  of  God's  will  towards  the  human  race  ?  We  are  not 
to  insist  that  Job  foresaw  the  evangelical  light,  and  felt  in  all 
its  fulness  the  evangelical  meaning  of  the  gospel,  but  there  are 
strugglings  upward,  there  are  dumb  instincts,  there  are  conjectures 
that  come  very-  near  to  revelations,  there  are  gropings  that  mean 
prayer ;  and  surely  he  is  the  wise  man  who  sees  in  all  the  way 
of  human  education  the  germ.s  of  things,  their  beginnings,  their 
first  indications,  and  who  watches  them  advancing  like  an 
ascending  sun.  Thus  viewed,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring 
that  there  is  now  a  daysman  between  God  and  us.  There  is 
one  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  The 
controversy  was  proceeding  idly  on  our  part,  and  was  resulting 
in   great   moral   confusion    and    tumult,    when,    lo,   there   came 


73  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobix.,x. 

amongst  us  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man — a  mysterious  man, — 
now  almost  a  little  child,  now  almost  a  woman  for  very  tender- 
ness and  tearfulness, — now  a  giant  for  strength,  now  a  God  for 
wisdom.  His  name  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  is  able  to  save 
unto  the  uttermost,  seeing  that  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
for  us.  If  we  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous.  He  is  able  to  lay  a  wounded  hand  upon 
God,  and  a  wounded  hand  upon  man,  and  to  bring  God  and  man 
together  in  righteous  and  eternal  reconciliation.  The  poorest 
man  may  engage  this  advocate.  His  eloquence  is  free  to  all. 
He  takes  up  the  least  prayer,  the  soul's  first  effort  in  supplication, 
and  enlarges  it  into  a  prevailing  plea.  The  weakest  believer 
that  hangs  upon  him  hangs  upon  the  rock  of  ages.  Cease  to 
plead  for  yourselves ;  cease  to  justify  your  own  life ;  cease  to 
believe  in  the  moral  value  of  respectability  as  before  God,  and 
like  little  children,  broken-hearted  prodigals,  self-renouncing 
criminals,  come  and  say  to  Jesus  Christ,  Plead  for  me ;  take 
up  my  poor  lost  soul ;  guide  me  altogether,  and  make  me  silent 
v/hilst  thou  dost  speak.  This  man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth 
with  them.  This  man  still  repels  the  scribe,  the  Pharisee,  the 
zealot,  the  bigot,  and  welcomes  all  fallen  ones,  who  cannot  fly 
to  him,  or  walk,  or  crawl,  but  only — look  1 


/ 


Chapters  ix.,  x. 

JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD. 

II. 

WE  must  remember,  if  we  would  understand  Job^s  moum* 
fnl  gnH  nnhlf^  mmplaint   npH  y]oquence^  that   Job  himSClf 

is  utterly  unaware  of  the  circumstances  under  whichhe  is  suffer- 
ing. TJnfortunately  for  ourselves  as  readers,  we  know  all  that 
the  historian  or  dramatist  can  tell  us  about  the  case  ;  but  Job 
knew  only  his  suffering:.  A  Why?  almost  indignant  came  from 
his  lips  again  and  again.  And  no  wonder.  It  is  one  thing,  we 
have  seen,  to  read  the  Book  of  Job,  and  another  to  be  Job  him- 
self. A  pitiful  thing  if  we  can  only  annotate  the  Book  of  Job,  an 
excellent  if  we  can  comment  upon  it  through  our  experience  and 
our  sympathy.     Consider  the  case  well,  then : — 

There  has  been  an  interview  between  God  and  the  devil :  the 
subject  of  that  interview  was  Job's  integrity  and  steadfastness  :  the 
devil  challenged  Job's  position,  and  said  that  he  was  but  circum- 
stantially pious ;  he  had  everything  heart  could  wish ;  a  hedge 
was  round  about  him  on  every  side,  and  if  such  a  man  were  not 
pious  the  more  shame  be  his  :  take  away,  said  the  enemy,  the 
hedge,  the  security,  the  prosperity,  and  this  praying  saint  will 
curse  thee  to  thy  face.  Job  knew  nothing  about  this.  There  is 
an  unconscious  influence  in  life — a  mysterious  ghostly  disciphne; 
an  unexplained  drill ;  a  sorrow  anonymous,  and  lacking  explica- 
tion. Job  understood  that  he  was  a  servant  of  the  living  God, 
a  diligent  student  of  the  divine  law,  a  patient  follower  of  the 
divine  statutes  and  commandments;  he  was  to  his  own  con- 
sciousness a  good  man ;  certainly  inspired  by  noble  aspirations, 
sentiments,  and  impulses ;  good  to  the  poor,  and  helpful  to  those 
who  needed  all  kinds  of  assistance;  and,  therefore,  why  he 
should  have  been  struck  by  these  tremendous  thunderbursts  was 


.>-v. 


(U5IVBK:IT7; 


74  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobix.,x. 

an  inquiry  to  which  he  had  no  answer.  But  consider,  on  the 
5ther  hand,  that  the  w^hole  pith  of  the  story  and  meaning  ot 
the  trial  must  be  found  in  the  very  fact  that  Job  had  no 
/notion  whatever  of  the  circumstances  under  which  he  was 
suffering. 

Had  Job  known  that  he  was  to  be  an  example,  that  a  great 
battle  was  being  fought  over  him,  that  the  worlds  were  gathered 
around  him  to  see  how  he  would  take  the  loss  of  his  children, 
his  property,  and  his  health,  the  circumstances  would  have  been 
vitiated,  and  the  trial  would  have  been  a  mere  abortion  :  under 
such  conditions  Job  might  have  strung  himself  up  to  an  heroic 
effort,  saying,  if  it  has  come  to  this — if  God  is  only  withdrawing 
himself  from  me  for  a  moment,  and  is  looking  upon  me  from 
behind  a  cloud,  what  care  I  if  seven  hells  should  burn  me,  and 
all  the  legions  of  the  pit  should  sweep  down  upon  me  in  one 
terrific  assault  ?  this  is  but  for  a  moment :  God  has  made  his 
boast  of  me ;  I  am  God's  specimen  man,  God's  exemplary  saint ; 
he  is  pointing  to  me,  saying,  See  in  Job  what  I  myself  am ; 
behold  in  him  my  grace  magnified  and  my  providence  vindicated. 
This  would  have  been  no  lesson  to  the  ages.  We  must  often 
suffer,  and  not  know  the  reason  why :  we  must  often  rise  from 
our  knees  to  fight  a  battle,  when  we  intended  to  enjoy  a  long 
repose :  things  must  slip  out  of  our  hands  unaccountably,  and 
loss  must  befall  our  estate  after  we  have  well  tended  all  that 
belongs  to  it,  after  we  have  securely  locked  every  gate,  and  done 
the  utmost  that  lies  within  the  range  of  human  sagacity  and 
strength  to  protect  our  property.  These  are  the  trials  that  we 
must  accept.  If  everything  were  plain  and  straightforward, 
everything  would  be  proportionately  easy  and  proportionately 
worthless.  It  is_after  we  have  prayed  our  noblest  prayer,  and 
;;ought  back  from  heaven's  garden  all  the  flowers  we  asked  for, 


that  we  must 'be  treated  as  it  we  were  wickea,~arrd  overthrown 
as  if  we  had  defied  the  spinFof  justice.  So  must  our  education 
proceed.  Brethren,  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers 
trials  and  persecutions  and  tests  :  all  these  things  are  meant 
for  the  culture  of  your  strength,  the  perfecting  of  your  patience, 
the  consolidation  of  your  hope  and  love.  Thus  we  should 
interpret   history.      God    will    not    explain    the   causes   of    our 


Jobix.,x.]         JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD,  75 

affliction  to  us,  any  more  than  he  explained  the  causes  of  Job's 
affliction  to  the  patriarch.  But  history  comes  to  do  what  God 
himself  refrains  from  doin^:  all  history  says  that  never  is  a 
good  man  tried  without  the  trial  being  meant  to  answer  some 
question  of  the  devil,  or  to  test  some  quality  of  the  man.  God 
does  not  send  trials  merely  for  the  sake  of  sending  them;  he 
is  not  arbitrary,  capricious,  governing  his  universe  by  whims 
and  fancies  and  changeable  moods.  But  seeing  that  he  made"  us, 
as  Job  here  contends,  and  knows  us  altogether,  we  must  accept 
the  trials  of  life  aa  part  of  the  education  of  life. 

What  course  does  Job  say  he  will  take  ?  A  point  of  depar- 
ture is  marked  in  the  tenth  chapter.  Hitherto  Job  has  more  or 
less  answered  the  men  who  have  spoken  to  him ;  now  he  turns 
away  from  them,  and  says — I  will  speak  straight  up  to  heaven. 
He  determines  to  be  frank.  "  I  will  speak  in  the  bitterness  ot 
my  soul."  That  is  right.  Let  us  hear  what  the  soul  has  to 
say.  Let  us  make  room  for  pale,  haggard  grief,  that  she  may 
tell  her  harrowing  tale.  Men  are  sickened  by  luxury.  Men 
are  sated  with  mere  delights.  Life  would  be  poor  but  for  the 
wealth  of  agonised  experience,  and  dull  but  for  the  music  of 
sanctified  desolation.  Job  has  begun  well  in  saying  he  will 
speak  right  out  to  God.  It  soothes  poor  misery  "  hearkening  to 
her  tale."  If  a  man  could  once  assure  himself  that  he  was 
speaking  as  it  were  face  to  face  with  God,  the  greatness  of  the 
auditor  would  lift  up  the  speech  to  a  worthy  level,  and  the  very 
interview  with  one  divine  would  help  our  human  nature  up  to 
the  very  divinity  to  whose  radiance  it  has  been  admitted. 

Do  not  let  us  speak  our  misery  downwards;  otherwise  our  tears 
will  soak  into  the  dust,  and  there  will  be  no  answer  in  flowers. 
Let  us  venture  to  lift  up  our  heads  even  in  the  time  of  grief  and 
misery  and  loss  and  loneliness,  and  speak  all  we  feel  right  into 
the  ear  of  God.  He  will  not  be  angry  with  us.  He  will  make 
room  for  our  speech.  He  framed  us ;  he  knows  our  composi- 
tion ;  he  understands  us  altogether,  and  blessed  be  his  name 
and  his  love,  he  knows  that  a  little  weeping  would  ease  our 
hearts,  and  that  long  talk  with  himself  would  end  in  a  mitigation 
of  our  grief.     Do  not  be  harsh  with  men  who  speak  with  some 


76  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobix.,x. 


measure  of  indignation  in  the  time  of  sorrow.  Sorrow  is  not 
likely  to  soothe  our  feelings,  and  to  pick  out  for  us  the  very 
daintiest  words  in  our  mother-tongue.  We  are  chafed  and  fretted 
and  vexed  by  the  things  which  befall  our  life.  It  is  not  easy  to 
put  the  coffin-lid  upon  the  one  little  child's  face ;  it  is  not  easy 
to  surrender  the  last  crust  of  bread  that  was  meant  to  satisfy 
our  hunger ;  it  is  not  pleasant  to  look  into  the  well-head  and 
find  the  water  gone  at  the  spring.  Yet,  in  our  very  frankness, 
we  should  strive  at  least  to  speak  in  chastened  tones,  and  with 
that  mystic  spirit  of  hopefulness  which,  even  in  the  very  agony 
of  fear,  whispers  to  the  soul,  Perhaps,  even  now,  at  the  very 
last,  God  may  be  gracious  unto  me.  Have  we  thus  turned  our 
sorrows  into  spiritual  controversies  with  God  ?  or  have  we 
degraded  them  into  mere  criticisms  upon  his  providence,  and 
turned  them  to  stinging  reproaches  upon  the  doctrine  which 
teaches  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God  ?  Let  us  go  alone,  shut  the  door  of  the  chamber,  and  spend 
all  day  with  God,  and  all  night ;  for  even  in  talking  over  our 
grief,  sentence  by  sentence,  and  letter  by  letter,  in  the  presence 
and  hearing  of  the  King,  without  his  personally  saying  one  word 
to  us,  we  may  feel  that  much  of  the  burden  has  been  lifted,  and 
that  light  is  preparing  to  dawn  upon  an  experience  which  we  had 
considered  to  be  doomed  to  enduring  and  unrelieved  darkness. 

Job  says  he  will  ask  for  a  reason.  "  I  will  say  unto  God,  do 
not  condemn  me ;  show  me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me  " 
(x.  2).  I  cannot  tell  why ;  I  am  not  conscious  of  any  reason  ; 
the  last  time  we  met  it  was  in  prayer,  in  loving  fellowship ;  the 
last  interview  I  had  with  heaven  was  the  pleasantest  I  can 
remember ;  lo,  I  was  at  the  altar  offering  sacrifices  for  my 
children,  when  the  great  gloom  fell  upon  my  life,  and  the  whole 
range  of  my  outlook  was  clothed  with  tKunder-clouds — oh,  tell  me 
why  !  We  need  not  ask  whether  these  words  actually  escaped 
Job's  lips,  because  we  know  they  are  the  only  words  which  he 
could  have  uttered,  or  that  this  is  the  only  spirit  in  which 
he  could  have  expressed  himself;  he  would  have  been  God, 
not  man,  if  under  all  the  conditions  of  the  case  he  had 
expressed  himself  in  terms  less  agonising,  and  in  wonder 
less  distracting. 


Jobix,x.]         ^OB'S  ANSWER   TO  BILDAD.  77 

Job  will  also  appeal  to  the  divine  conscience,  if  ih2  express'on 
may  be  allowed  : — 

"  Is  it  good  unto  thee  that  thou  shouldest  oppress,  that  tho  1  s'  ouldest 
despise  the  work  of  thine  hands,  and  shine  upon  the  counsel  of  the  wicked  ?  " 
(X.  3). 

"  Is  it  good/' — is  it  in  harmony  with  the  fitness  of  things ;  is 
it  part  of  the  music  of  divine  justice?     How  will  this  incident 
be  interpreted   by  those  who   are   looking  on  ?      Art  thou   not 
doing  more  mischief  by  this  experiment  than  good  ?     There  are 
f    men  who  are   observing  me,  who  knew  that  I   was  a  man  of 
/      prayer,  a  man  of  spiritual  fame,  and  they  will  siy,  If  thus  God 
I       treats  the  good,  is  it  not  better  to  be  wicked?     And  there  are 
I      wicked  men  looking  on  who  are  saying,  It  has  come  out  just 
\     as  we  expected  ;  all  this  religious  sentiment  ends  in  spiritual 
\   reaction,  and  God  is  not  to  be  worshipped  as  Job  has  worshipped 
\  him.     O  living,  loving,  saving  God,  Shepherd  of  the  universe, 
I  consider  this,  and  answer  me!     Once  shake  a  man's  confidence 
Jin  right,  and  he  could  no  longer  go  to  the  altar  of  the  God  whom 
/  he  could  charge  with  wrong ;  once  let  a  man  feel  that  good  may 
/  come  to    nothing,  and    prayer  is  wasted  breath,   and  that   the 
/     balances   of  justice   are   in    unsteady    hands,   and    all   religious 
/       lectures  are  properly  lost  upon  him,  and  all  pious  appeals  are 
/         but  so  much  wasted  breath.     We  must  have  confidence  in  the 
\        goodness  of  God.     We  must  be  able  to  say  to  ourselves.  The 
lot  is  dark,  the  road  is  crooked,  the  hill  is  steep ;  I  cannot  tell 
why  these  trials  should   have  come  upon  me,  but  see  me  to- 
morrow, or  the  third   day,  and   I  shall  have  an   answer   from 
V heaven,  the  enigma  shall  be  solved,  and  the  solution  shall   be 
the  best  music  my  soul  ever  listened  to. 

Job  then  pleads  himself — his  very  physiology,  his  constitu- 
tion : — 

"  Thine  hands  have  made  me  and  fashioned  me  together  round  about ; 
yet  thou  dost  destroy  me.  Remember,  I  beseech  thee,  that  thou  hast  made 
me  as  the  clay ;  and  wilt  thou  bring  me  into  dust  again  ?  Hast  thou  not 
poured  me  out  as  milk,  and  curdled  me  like  cheese  ?  Thou  hast  clothed  me 
with  skin  and  flesh,  and  hast  fenced  me  with  bones  and  sinews"  (x.  8-1 1.) 

I  am  made  by  thee ;  didst  thou  make  make  me  to  destroy 
me  ?  Art  thou  so  fickle  ?  Art  thou  a  potter  that  fashions  a 
beautiful  vase,  and  then  dashes  it  to  the  ground  ?     I  am  all  thine, 


;8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE  [Jobix.,x. 

from   the  embryo — for  that  is  the  reference  made  in  the  tenth 
verse  :  "  Hast  thou  not  poured  me  out  as  milk,  and  curdled  me 
like  cheese  ?  "     I  am  thine  from  the  very  embryo,  the  very  germ ; 
there  is  nothing  about  me  that  I  have  done  myself;  I  am  the 
work  of  thine  own  hands ;  art  thou  a  fantastic  maker,  creating 
toys  that  thou  mayest  have  the  dehght  of  crushing  them  between 
the  palms  of  thine  hands?     A  very  pathetic  inquiry  is  this — 
"  Thou  hast  made  me  as  the  clay ;  and  wilt  thou  bring  me  into 
dust  again  ?  " — is  this  the  law  of  evolution  ?  is  this  the  science 
or  philosophy  of  development  ?  is  all  life  simply  a  little  beginning, 
rising  out  of  itself,  and  returning  to  itself  ?  and  is  "  dust "  the 
only  word  appropriate  to  man  ?  is  life  a  journey  from  dust  to 
dust,  from  ashes  to  ashes,  from  nothing  to  nothing?     Consider 
this,    O   loving  Creator  I      Job   says  he  will  reason  otherwise, 
(jod,  who  has  made  so  much  out  of  nothing,  means  to  make  more 
out  of  so  much  :  the  very  creation  means  the  redemption  and 
salvation  and  coronation  of  the  thing  that  was  created  in  the 
divine  image  and  likeness.     Creation  does  not  end  in  itself:  it 
is  a  pledge,  a  token,  a  sign — yea,  a  sure  symbol,  equal  in  moral 
value  to  an  oath,  that  God's  meaning  is  progress  unto  the  measure 
of  perfection.     This  is  how  we  discover  the  grand  doctrine  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  even  in  the  Old  Testament — even  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis  and  in  the  Book  of  Job.     What  was  it  that  lay 
so  heavily  upon  Adam  and  upon  Job  ?     It  was  the  limitation 
of  their  existence ;  it  was  the  possible  thought  that  they  could 
see  finalities,  that  they  could  touch  the  mean  boundary  of  their 
heart's  throb  and  vital  palpitation.     When  men  can  take  up  the 
whole  theatre  of  being  and  opportunity  and   destiny,  and  say, 
This  is  the  shape  of  it,  and  this  is  the  weight,  this  is  the  measure, 
this  is  the  beginning,  and  this  is  the  end,  then  do  they  weary 
of  life,  and  they  come  to  despise  it  with  bitterness ;  but  when 
they  cannot  do  these  things,  but,  contrariwise,  when  they  begin 
to  see  that  there  is  a  Beyond,  something  farther  on,  voices  other 
than  human,  mystic  appearances  and  revelations,  then  they  say, 
This  life  as  we  see  it  is  not  all;  it  is  an  alphabet  which  has 
to  be  shaped  into  a  literature,  and  a  literature  which  has  to  end 
in  music.     The  conscious  immortality  of  the  soul,  as  that  soul 
was  fashioned  in  the  purpose  of  God,  has  kept  the  race  from 
despair. 


Jobix..x.]         JOB'S  ANSWER  TO  BILDAD.  79 

Job  said  if  this  were  all  that  we  see,  he  would  like  to  be 
extinguished.  He  would  rather  go  out  of  being  than  live  under 
a  sense  of  injustice : 

"  Oh  that  I  had  given  up  the  ghost,  and  no  eye  had  seen  me !  I  should 
have  been  as  though  I  had  not  been ;  I  should  have  been  carried  from  the 
womb  to  the  grave.  Are  not  my  days  few?  cease  then,  and  let  me  alone, 
that  I  may  take  comfort  a  little,  before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not  return,  even 
to  the  land  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death;  a  land  of  darkness,  as 
darkness  itself;  and  of  the  shadow  of  death,  without  any  order,  and  where 
the  light  is  as  darkness  "  (x.  18-22). 

Thus  he  exhausts  the  Hebrew  tongue  in  piling  image  upon 
image  by  which  to  signify  the  everlasting  extinction  and  eternal 
darkness.  Yet  he  would  choose  extinction  rather  than  life  under 
a  galling  sense  of  injustice.  It  is  so  with  individual  men.  It  is 
so  with  nations  of  men.  There  comes  a  time  when  the  sense 
of  injustice  becomes  intolerable.  Anarchy,  the  sufferers  say, 
is  better ;  and  as  for  darkness,  it  is  to  be  chosen  in  preference 
to  light  which  is  only  used  for  the  perpetration  of  iniquity. 
"  My  soul  is  weary  of  my  life."  Is  that  a  solitary  expression  ? 
We  have  heard  Rebekah  say  the  same  w^ords — she  would  die. 
We  have  heard  David  say,  ''Oh  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove  ! 
for  then  would  I  fly  away," — a  term  which  indicates  distance 
without  measure — "  and  be  at  rest."  We  have  heard  great  Elijah 
— royal,  lion-like,  terrible  Elijah — say,  "  Let  me  die  " — give  me 
release  from  life.  What  wonder  if  other  men  have  uttered  the 
same  expression.  It  is,  let  us  say  again  and  again,  the  natural  * 
and  necessary  expression,  except  there  be  hidden  in  the  heart 
the  hope  of  immortality.  Thus  Paul  triumphed:  "Our  light 
affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ;  while  we  look  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen :  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen : 
for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  are  eternal."  Eternity  must  help  time,  or  time  will 
be  the  grave  of  its  own  creations  and  aspirations.  What  hold 
have  we  upon  eternity  ?  Is  our  citizenship  in  heaven  ?  From 
what  fountain  do  we  drink  ?  If  from  the  fountains  of  eternity, 
then  we  shall  be  satisfied  for  ever,  and  labour  will  be  but  a 
preparation  for  the  enjoyment  of  rest,  and  rest  shall  bring  back 
the  energy  which  we  shall  rejoice  to  spend  in  service.    Are  we 


8o  ^  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobix.,x. 

trusting  to  the  tricks,  the  chances,  the  revolutions  of  some  mere 
wheel  of  fortune  ?  or  are  we  living  in  the  living  God  ?  Are  we 
crucified  with  Christ,  yet  have  we  risen  with  him  ?  are  we 
living  in  him,  and  is  he  living  in  us  ?  Is  the  life  we  now  live 
in  the  flesh  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God  ?  Then,  come  weal, 
come  woe,  at  the  end  there  shall  be  festival,  celestial  Sabbath, 
infinite  liberty,  unspeakable  joy.  We  fearlessly  preach  the  doctrine 
that  all  things  are  done  by  God.  We  cannot  recognise  any  devil 
that  eclipses  the  omnipotence  of  the  Almighty.  Boldly  would  we 
say,  "  Shall  there  be  evil  in  a  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done 
it  ?  "  Do  we  suppose  there  are  two  rival  powers  in  the  universe, 
and  that  one  endeavours  to  overreach  the  other,  to  be  before 
the  other,  in  the  culture  or  the  destruction  of  human  nature? 
That  is  not  a  Christian  doctrine  as  we  understand  the  teaching 
oC  Holy  Scripture.  *'  The  Lord  reigneth."  The  devil  is  a 
chained  enemy :  "  beyond  his  chain  he  cannot  go."  When  he 
wants  a  new  link  added  to  it  he  has  to  ask  the  Omnipotent 
to  lengthen  his  tether  by  one  short  inch.  All  things  are  in  the 
hands  of  God.  All  earthquakes,  and  tumults,  and  revolutions, 
all  national  uprisings,  all  political  upheavals,  all  the  mysterious, 
tragic,  awful  process  of  development,  we  must  find  in  the  hand 
and  under  the  government  of  God.  Therefore  will  we  not  be 
afraid;  we  will  say,  "God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very 
present  help  in  trouble;"  though  the  mountains  be  carried  into 
the  midst  of  the  sea,  the  throne  of  the  Eternal  is  left  untouched, 
and  the  government  of  the  Everlasting  is  left  unimpaired.  We 
will  hide  ourselves  in  the  Sanctuary  of  our  Father  until  all 
calamities  be  overpast.  Qut  of  the  .agony  and  the  throes  of 
individual  experiencCj  and  national  convulsions,  there  shall  come 
a  creation  fair  as  the  noonday,  quiet  as  the  silent  but  radiant 
stars  I 


Chapter  xi. 

THE  FIRST  SPEECH  OP  ZOPHAR. 

I. 

COMMENTATORS  have  not  much  to  say  of  Zophar  that  can 
be  considered  favourable.  By  what  seems  an  inexplicable 
consent  they  seem  to  have  agreed  to  condemn  Zophar  as  irascible, 
contemptuous,  supercilious,  and  the  like.  We  hardly  feel  that 
the  condemnation  is  just.  The  speech  is  before  us,  and  every 
man  can  form  his  own  opinion  about  it,  but  our  contention  will 
be  that  within  the  four  corners  of  this  speech  there  is  really  no 
reason  to  pour  contempt  upon  the  speaker.  We  have  been  told 
that  Eliphaz  was  a  seer,  a  man  who  saw  sights  in  the  darkness, 
a  man  of  wondrous  intuition ;  that  Bildad  was  great  in  tradition, 
in  ancient  literature,  and  fortified  himself  by  the  consolidated 
wisdom  of  the  ages  ;  and  of  Zophar  it  is  said  that  he  represented 
the  commonplace  thought  or  the  popular  orthodoxy  of  his  day. 
It  is  easy  to  say  this,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  temptation  to 
some  minds  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted  when  there  is  an  oppor- 
tunity to  condemn  some  one.  There  is  a  cant  that  prides  itself 
in  running  down  what  it  calls  the  commonplace  orthodoxy  of  the 
day.  Even  assuming  Zophar  to  occupy  that  point  of  view,  and 
to  repeat  with  some  distinctness  and  almost  positiveness  the 
dogmas  which  had  been  established  in  his  time,  we  must 
remember  that  a  man  is  not  necessarily  a  genius  because  he  is 
a  heretic.  If  it  were  so,  the  world  would  die  of  genius.  There 
are  so  many  heretics,  little  heretics  and  great  heretics,  and 
heretics  of  every  degree  between  the  two  points;  so  that  if 
heresy  were  a  sign  of  genius  who  could  bear  the  splendour  of 
its  blaze  ?  It  would  consume  an  earth  some  eight  thousand 
miles  through  it.  And  if  all  this  were  significant  of  independence 
of  mind,  where  would  be  society,  common  esteem,  mutual  trust 
and  regard  ?  What,  therefore,  if  we  venture  to  put  in  one  word 
VOL.   XL  6 


82  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxi. 

for  orthodoxy,  and  not  to  gather  up  all  the  conclusions  of  long 
centuries,  and  turn  them  out  with  contempt  as  though  they  had 
been  encumbering  the  ground,  or  hindering  the  education  of  the 
world  ?  Narrow  interpretations  of  them  may  have  been  doing 
so,  petty  sectarian  limitations  of  them  can  do  nothing  but 
mischief ;  but  then  there  is  a  right  interpretation  of  orthodoxy 
as  well  as  a  narrow  and  imperfect  one.  Our  steady  contention 
has  been  that  all  the  great  thoughts  that  have  ever  influenced 
the  world  for  good  belong  to  the  evangelical  line  of  thinking, 
when  that  line  is  properly  discerned,  measured,  and  applied : 
unhappily,  knavish  hands  have  been  laid  upon  it,  and  minds 
unequal  to  the  occasion  have  endeavoured  to  deal  with  it,  and 
therefore  an  unworthy  reputation  has  been  attached  to  it,  an 
unworthy  reputation  amounting  to  a  positive  stigma.  Still,  we 
must  be  just.  We  cannot  gratefully  forget  our  best  ancestors. 
We  ought  not  to  be  the  men  who  are  put  away  from  our  old 
standpoints  simply  by  the  wave  of  some  man's  hand,  when  we 
are  not  sure  that  there  is  anything  in  the  hand  but  its  power  of 
waving.  Let  us,  therefore,  stand  by  Zophar,  so  far  at  least  as 
to  examine  what  he  says,  carefully  and  patiently,  and  if  we  find 
it  to  be  such  very  vile  commonplace  let  us  say  so,  and  join  the 
majority ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  we  find  the  man  to  be  a  clear 
thinker,  and  a  good,  strong,  terse,  pointed  speaker,  let  us  say  so, 
and  weigh  well  what  he  has  declared. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  Zophar  was  young;  certainly  the 
youngest  of  the  three  comforters,  because  in  Oriental  lands  great 
deference  was  paid  to  age,  and  certainly  juvenility  would  not 
speak  until  a  multitude  of  days  had  declared  itself.  Probably, 
therefore,  Zophar  was  comparatively  young.  He  was  supposed 
to  be  coarse.  Truly  he  did  speak  to  Job  in  a  tone  to  which 
Job  himself  had  not  been  accustomed.  But  what  is  coarseness  ? 
Is  there  any  one  handy  and  final  definition  even  of  that  term  ? 
Is  not  even  that  word  a  relative  one  ?  and  may  there  not  be  a 
moral  indignation  hardly  distinguishable  from  what  some  men 
call  coarseness  ?  Surely  there  may  be  a  time  in  human  con- 
troversy and  in  religious  conflict  when  men  may  speak  words 
that  are  somewhat  wanting  in  mere  decoration  and  ornament, 
and  they  may  come  down  too  squarely  and  positively  upon  what 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  83 

they  believe  to  be  realities.  But  it  is  not  the  part  of  refinement 
to  talk  much  about  the  coarseness  of  other  men.  It  will  pro- 
bably be  found,  that  the  more  a  man  is  a  gentleman  the  more 
gentlemen  he  discovers  round  about  him.  Do  not  be  terrified 
by  the  criticism  that  calls  a  man  from  whom  it  differs  a  man  of 
coarse  and  violent  speeches.  "  Zophar  " — perhaps  there  may  be 
an  explanation  in  his  name.  If  a  certain  line  of  etymology  be 
chosen,  we  shall  find  that  Zophar  means  *'  the  yellow  one." 
And  all  yellow  men  are  impulsive,  hopeful,  radiant ;  they  are 
going  to  leap  over  the  hills ;  and  as  for  the  rivers,  they  will  dry 
them  up  by  the  ardour  of  their  enthusiasm.  Men  ought  not  to 
be  blamed  for  being  yellow-haired  and  yellow-skinned  :  for  they 
had  no  choice  in  the  matter'.  We  must  have  some  yellow  ones 
amongst  us — bright,  impulsive,  daring,  enterprising  men.  They 
cannot  all  be  black.  The  world  owes  a  good  deal  to  its  yellow 
sons,  its  men  of  fire,  its  men  who  speak  first  and  think  after- 
wards :  its  leapmg  men  who  bound  on,  if  haply  it  be  only  to 
come  back  again  and  say,  There  is  no  road  down  there.  Let 
us  be  gentle,  considerate,  just :  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it 
shall  be  measured  to  you  again.  One  colour  cannot  understand 
another.  There  are  colours  that  shrink  away  from  one  another, 
saying.  We  have  nothing  in  common  ;  do  not  mix  us,  or  you 
will  be  affrighted  by  the  hideous  result.  One  man  can  hardly 
understand  another ;  yet  the  less  he  understands  him  the  more 
prone  he  may  be  to  condemn  him.  All  men  are  God's  children. 
We  are  all  parts  of  the  great  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 
The  Eliphaz  who  sees  visions,  the  Bildad  who  remembers  history, 
the  Zophar  who  is  enterprising,  adventurous,  daring,  almost  to 
imprudence,  all  belong  to  the  great  household  presided  over  by 
the  living  God  ;  and  it  must  not  be  the  part  of  one  brother  to 
exclude  or  condemn  another.  There  is  an  unfortunateness  even 
in  the  matter  of  natural  spirits.  It  is  surely  no  little  weight  to 
carry  to  see  in  every  man  something  bright,  in  every  darkness 
some  shining  star,  and  to  hear  in  every  wind  some  whispered 
gospel.  The  very  buoyancy  of  some  men  becomes  to  them 
in  periods  of  reaction  a  great  suffering.  Then  Zophar  was  a 
"  Naamathite."  That  word  means  '*  pleasantness,"  land  of  the 
sunshine,  country  of  the  morning;  a  fair  genial  soil  that  caught 
the  earliest  rays  of  the  orient.     So  we  have  a  man  of  highly- 


84  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxi. 


strung  spirit ;  bright,  dashing,  enthusiastic,  full  of  sunshine ;  a 
man  who  had  lived  on  sunlight  all  his  days  :  what  wonder  if 
with  some  brusqueness  he  clears  his  way  to  the  centre,  and  says 
with  considerable  definiteness  that  Job  is  too  great  a  talker  to 
be  much  of  a  reasoner  ?  All  these  things  are  matters  of  in- 
ference. Certainly  in  the  ancient  times  names  were  significant 
of  character ;  it  may  be,  therefore,  that  the  explanation  of  what 
is  condemned  in  Zophar  may  be  really  constitutional. 

But  let  us  hear  the  speech,  and  judge  by  its  manner  and  its 
reasoning : 

"Should  not  the  multitude  [torrent]  of  words  be  answered  ?  and  should  a 
man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ?"  (v.  2). 

What  justification  had  Zophar  for  describing  Job*s  speech  as 
a  torrent — a  very  cataract  of  words  ?  He  had  some  justification. 
Certainly  the  astounding  eloquence  of  Job  was  likely  to  bring 
upon  him  some  criticism  of  this  kind.  Let  us  take  our  English 
Bible  as  a  help  towards  verbal  measuifements.  Bildad  had  made 
a  speech  which  occupies  twenty-two  verses  of  the  English  Bible; 
Job  returned  an  answer  which  occupies  fifty-seven  verses  of  the 
same  book,  and  many  of  the  verses  are  longer.  Job  seemed  to 
become  all  words  in  this  marvellous  response.  Then  consider 
how  an  impatient  man  measures  a  speech.  An  impulsive  hearer 
measures  a  speaker  by  his  own  impulsiveness.  He  wants  the 
speaker  to  sit  down  that  he  himself  may  have  a  chance  of 
standing  up.  There  are  men  who  could  listen  for  hours,  and 
think  the  speaker  too  short;  they  would  have  him  proceed  with 
his  argument  and  complete  it  like  an  edifice  designed  in  exquisite 
proportions,  and  coloured  so  as  to  express  the  highest  meanings. 
There  are  other  men  who  cannot  sit  still.  The  most  of  men  are 
lacking  in  that  power :  they  are  anticipating  the  speaker,  answer- 
ing an  argument  before  they  hear  it,  multiplying  the  words 
by  their  own  impatience,  so  that  even  when  a  reasonably  long 
speech  is  concluded  they  call  it  ''a  torrent  of  words."  There 
are  some  men  who  have  made  no  little  mark  in  their  country's 
progress  who  have  been  condemned  on  the  ground  of  *'  verbosity." 
'*  And  should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ?  "  Rather y  "  And 
should  a  man  of  lips  be  justified  ?  "  A  Hebraism  suggesting  that 
Job  was  "  all  lips,"  had  lost  every  feature  but  his  "  lips,"  and  all 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR. 

round  about  him  he  was  *'  lips/' — simply  a  talking  and  word- 
multiplying  machine.  No  doubt  this  kind  of  characterisation  of 
Job's  eloquence  is  the  explanation  of  the  severity  with  which 
Zophar  has  been  treated  by  his  critics.  But  honesty  sometimes 
takes  short  cuts  to  the  end  it  proposes  to  reach.  Zophar  may 
have  been  terse  and  honest.  Yet  Zophar  is  philosophically 
correct  If  a  man  runs  out  in  w^ords  only,  he  is  enfeebling 
himself,  contracting  his  own  capacity,  occupying  a  wrong  stand- 
point in  relation  to  all  the  mysteries  and  energies  of  the  universe. 
Silence  is  often,  if  not  always,  golden. 

"  Should  thy  lies  [rather,  boasting]  make  men  hold  their  peace  ?"  (v.  3). 

The  word  is  not  "lies,"  in  the  sense  of  charging  Job  with 
speaking  direct  and  known  falsehoods;  but  Job  is  boasting, 
defending  himself,  holding  up  his  own  virtue,  and  saying.  Look 
at  it :  it  is  like  a  piece  of  pure  porcelain,  without  flaw  or  rent 
or  hair's-breadth  of  inferiority.  Job  has  been  making  toys,  and 
exhibiting  all  these  toys  to  his  three  visitors,  and  Zophar  has 
become  impatient  with  the  exhibition.  *'  And  when  thou  mockest, 
shall  no  man  make  thee  ashamed  ?  "  We  have  seen  that  there 
was  a  tone  of  mockery  in  Job's  reply  to  Bildad  ?  We  remember 
that  in  the  ninth  chapter,  verse  2,  wherein  Job  exclaims,  "  I  know 
it  is  so  of  a  truth,"  we  found  that  to  be  a  latent  sarcasm ;  not 
at  all  evident  in  English  as  it  stands  before  us,  but  a  hidden 
mockery  and  jibe,  as  who  should  say.  Of  course,  ye  wise  men, 
I  perfectly  understand  what  ye  are  talking  about :  you  want  to 
display  your  wisdom,  whereas  I  know  that  your  wisdom  is  folly. 
Zophar  did  not  like  mockery ;  and  his  resentment  of  it  was  all 
the  better  because  it  was  not  himself  who  was  mocked.  Up  to 
this  time  he  has  not  spoken ;  when,  therefore,  he  charges  Job 
with  mockery  he  really  defends  his  own  companions  in  this  visit 
of  condolence,  for  it  was  their  speech  which  elicited  the  mockery 
of  the  patriarch. 

What,  then,  was  Zophar's  point  of  view  ?  Precisely  that  of 
the  former  speaker.  We  see  no  difference  between  the  introduc- 
tion of  Zophar's  speech  and  the  introduction  of  Bildad's.  Bildad 
said  (viii.  2),  ''How  long  wilt  thou  speak  these  things?  and  how 
lung  shall  the  words  of  thy   mouth   be  like  a  strong  wind  ? " 


V  v  it 


86  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE:  [Jobxi. 

Zophar  said,  "  should  not  the  multitude  of  words  be  answered  ? 
and  should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ?  "  Why,  then,  shall 
Bildad  be  reckoned  with  the  philosophers,  and  Zophar  reckoned 
with  impertinent  men  ?  Up  to  this  time  they  have  had  nothing 
but  words  to  answer,  and  yet  the  words  have  been  absolutely 
and  flatly  contradicted  by  the  very  facts  which  Job  represented. 
This  was  the  position  the  men  occupied ;  they  said,  The  words 
of  Job  are  one  thing,  and  the  condition  in  which  Job  is  living 
is  another,  and  there  is  no  harmony  or  consistency  between 
the  two.  When  words  are  not  borne  out  by  facts  it  is  right  to 
characterise  them  by  such  terms  as  "  a  strong  wind."  If  the  men 
had  met  for  talk  only — if  they  had  said.  Let  us  appoint  a 
meeting  for  the  sake  of  speaking  to  one  another  as  much  as  we 
possibly  can.  Job  would  have  been  facile  princeps.  Who  could 
talk  like  Job  ?  What  other  man  had  such  command  of  dignified 
speech  and  illustration  ?  But  there  was  no  meeting  for  mere 
talking :  the  men  had  come  together  to  address  themselves  to 
a  particular  set  of  circumstances,  and  Job  was  not  speaking  to 
these,  but  speaking  miles  above  them,  and  might  have  delivered 
precisely  the  same  speeches  if  he  himself  had  been  in  flourishing 
and  prosperous  circumstances. 

The  reply  of  Zophar,  therefore,  was  not  wanting  in  justice. 
Take  instances  which  will  at  once  illustrate  this  position.  When 
a  man  who  is  a  bankrupt  prates  about  financial  skill,  declares  that 
he  could  occupy  with  advantage  the  position  of  chief  financial 
director  of  the  country,  when  he  delivers  long  lectures  upon  the 
political  economy  of  nations,  who  can  forget  that  he  is  a  bankrupt, 
and  is  therefore,  by  so  much,  without  being  coarse,  a  liar  ?  Con- 
sider the  case  well :  the  man  is  telling  all  the  country  how  its 
finances  ought  to  be  managed ;  he  is  finding  flavvs  in  every  state- 
ment, exposing  the  errors  of  every  statistical  demonstration  :  he 
is  an  incarnate  pence-table.  What  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
he  would  make  I  How  by  some  baton  he  would  wave  all  tumult 
mto  harmony  and  music  I  But  the  painful  thought  recurs  that 
he  is  himself  a  bankrupt.  That  must  tell  against  him.  He  will 
come  to  be  regarded  as  a  man  full  of  talk ;  his  speech  will  be 
considered  as  "  a  strong  wind,"  his  eloquence  will  be  described 
as  "a  torrent  of  words," — why?     Because  his  speech  and  his 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  87 

condition  do  not  accord  the  one  with  the  other.  Yet  he  may 
possibly  be  the  genius  he  claims  to  be.  So  singularly  are  we 
constituted,  that  there  is  hardly  a  man  anywhere  who  is  able  to 
manage,  at  least  in  words,  the  finances  of  his  country,  who  could 
pay  his  own  personal  obligations.  Take  another  instance.  If 
you  find  a  man  who  is  prepared  to  teach  people  how  to  speak 
— how  to  speak  their  native  tongue  with  clearness,  precision, 
daintiness,  finely-toned  emphasis,  exquisite  effect ;  if  all  this  be 
upon  his  prospectus,  and  when  you  go  to  see  the  teacher  you 
find  him  a  mumbling  man,  who  cannot  pronounce  any  one  word 
in  his  mother-tongue  as  it  ought  to  be  pronounced,  the  facts 
will  be  somewhat  against  him ;  you  will  say,  This  is  mere  talk, 
mere  boasting,  mere  pretence :  should  thy  boastings  make  men 
hold  their  peace  ?  Zophar  was  in  presence  of  exactly  such  con- 
ditions. Job  was  boasting  of  his  integrity  and  his  virtue ;  yet  all 
the  while  he  was  lying  on  the  ground,  as  it  were,  covered  with 
sores,  wholly  dismantled,  unmanned,  lacerated  as  by  the  whip  of 
heaven  ;  and  Zophar,  feeling  that  God  was  a  God  of  justice,  had  in 
his  heart  at  least  the  thought — If  this  man  had  not  somehow 
sinned,  he  would  not  have  been  lying  in  exactly  these  circum- 
stances. Zophar's  education  upon  this  point  might  indeed  have 
been  incomplete :  probably  we  shall  find  that  to  be  the  case;  but 
a  man  who  lives  in  one^  century  cannot  be  rich  with  the  wisdom 
of  the  century  that  is  to  come  :  he  must  be  the  contemporary  of 
himself  as  well  as  the  contemporary  of  other  men,  and  can  only 
walk  according  to  the  light  of  the  day  in  which  he  lives.  Zophar's 
theory  was  :  If  men  do  good,  God  will  keep  them  in  security  and 
in  honour;  if  men  do  evil,  God  will  cast  them  out  of  the  castle  of 
his  providence,  the  sanctuary  of  his  benediction,  and  they  shall 
be  left  to  bear  the  rough  winds  of  heaven  without  a  roof  to  cover 
them.  He  fourtd  Job  in  this  kind  of  condition,  and  reasoned 
inwardly,  if  not  outwardly,  that  Job  must  have  been  committing 
some  secret  and  unexplained  iniquity.  What  do  we  say  when  a 
diseased  man  lectures  his  friends  upon  the  subject  of  health  ? 
When,  sitting  up  with  somewhat  of  a  cripple's  gait,  he  says 
you  ought  to  rise  at  such  an  hour  in  the  morning,  or  keep 
such  a  programme  of  daily  culture  and  discipline,  obey  the  laws 
which  he  will  enumerate  that  you  may  the  better  recollect  them, 
and  then  promises  that  you  will  be  healthy,  strong,  robust,  radiant. 


88  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxi. 

and  happy, — who  can  resist  casting  just  a  side-glance  at  least  at  the 
lecturer,  and  who  can  hinder  his  heart  from  saying,  "  Physician, 
heal  thyself"  ?  Now  it  was  exactly  in  such  circumstances  that 
Job  appeared  at  least  to  his  three  comforters.  He  was  lecturing 
upon  integrity,  and  virtue,  and  perfectness  of  character,  and  right 
relations  to  heaven,  and  if  the  men  did  now  and  then  wonder 
why  he  should  have  been  smitten  thus,  they  were  but  human  in 
their  reasoning.  On  the  other  hand,  all  these  men — the  great 
financier,  the  imperfect  speaker,  the  diseased  lecturer  upon  health 
— may  have  a  distinct  function,  characterised  by  high  utility :  if 
they  will  make  themselves  warnings,  and  not  examples,  they 
will  accept  the  intimations  of  providence  and  be  faithful  to  the 
purpose  of  God.  Let  a  man  who  himself  has  failed  say,  "  Look 
at  me,  and  beware  :  I  will  tell  you  where  I  got  wrong ;  I  began  at 
the  wrong  point,  I  took  hold  of  everything  by  the  wrong  end ;  I 
will  deliver  you  a  short  address  upon  my  blunders,  not  upon  my 
excellences— for  I  have  few — that  by  hearing  me  recite  my  errors 
you  may  at  least  have  the  chance  of  avoiding  them.  Then 
infirmest  men  have  a  place  in  human  education,  unfortunate  lives 
have  something  to  say  to  us,  unsuccessful  baffled  men  may  cpme 
and  claim  to  speak  to  us  all,  and  we  should  listen  with  both  ears, 
and  with  our  whole  heart,  because  we  may  even  now,  though  life 
is  far  advanced,  be  enabled  to  turn  right  round  and  begin  again ; 
and  the  young,  if  wise,  will  accept  the  monitions  of  history,  and 
profit  by  the  failures  of  other  men. 

One  closing  word  of  application.  May  we  not  have  argued 
about  providences  when  we  ought  to  have  prayed  respecting 
I  hem  ?  May  we  not  sometimes  have  betaken  ourselves  to 
defences  of  personal  conduct,  when  we  ought  to  have  betaken 
ourselves  to  searching  scrutiny  into  motive  and  thought  and 
purpose?  The  question  is  not  what  defence  we  have  before 
men,  but  what  answer  we  have  to  the  living  God.  Job  has 
already  discovered  this,  and  has  not  kept  back  the  truth.  We 
have  heard  him  say,  if  man  will  contend  with  God,  man  cannot 
answer  God  one  of  a  thousand :  in  other  words,  God  has  not 
only  a  solitary  case  against  us,  an  individual  lapse,  a  particular 
and  namable  iniquity,  saying  to  each  man,  You  have  got  wrong 
only  once,  and  these  are  the  facts;  the  charge  which  God  has 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  89 

against  man  is  a  charge  of  total  collapse,  so  that  when  we  have 
concluded  one  defence  we  must  enter  upon  another;  we  no 
sooner  bring  to  a  period  our  most  resonant  defences  than  another 
impeachment  is  hurled  upon  us,  and  we  have  to  reply  to  the 
still  larger  accusation.  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one; 
all  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray,  we  have  turned  every  one 
to  his  own  way.  We  can  deal  with  the  case  after  one  of  two 
methods :  we  can  make  it  a  matter  of  words,  trying  to  build 
ourselves  round  with  a  wall  of  expression,  rhetoric,  eloquence ; 
or  we  can  throw  ourselves  down  before  the  living  One,  saying — 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner :  I  do  not  see  everything ;  thou 
seest  things  as  they  really  are :  I  am  conscious  of  infirmity, 
incompleteness,  irresoluteness,  and  I  know  myself  too  well  to 
begin  a  plea  of  self-justification — God  pity  me ;  Christ  save  me ; 
Spirit  of  the  living  God,  do  not  abandon  me  I 


NOTES. 

BiLDAD  ("  son  of  contention,"  if  Gesenius'  derivation  be  correct),  the  second 
of  Job's  three  friends.  He  is  called  "the  Shuhite,"  which  implies  both  his 
family  and  nation.  Shuah  was  the  name  of  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Keturah, 
and  of  an  Arabian  tribe  sprung  from  him,  when  he  had  been  sent  eastward 
by  his  father.  Bildad  takes  a  share  in  each  of  the  three  controversies  with 
Job  (viii.,  xviii.,  xxv).  He  follows  in  the  train  of  Eliphaz,  but  with  more 
violent  declamation,  less  argument,  and  keener  invective.  His  address  is 
abrupt  and  untender,  and  in  his  very  first  speech  he  cruelly  attributes  the 
death  of  Job's  children  to  their  own  transgressions,  and  loudly  calls  on  Job 
to  repent  of  his  supposed  crimes. 

Eliphaz,  the  chief  of  the  three  friends  of  Job.  He  is  called  "  the  Temanite ;" 
hence  it  is  naturally  inferred  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  Teman  (the  son  ot 
the  first  Eliphaz),  from  whom  a  portion  of  Arabia  Petraea  took  its  name,  and 
whose  name  is  used  as  a  poetical  parallel  to  Edom  in  Jer.  xlix.  20.  On  him 
falls  the  main  burden  of  the  argument,  that  God's  retribution  in  this  world  is 
perfect  and  certain,  and  that  consequently  suffering  must  be  a  proof  of 
previous  sin  (Job  iv.,  v.,  xv.,  xxii).  His  words  are  distinguished  from  those 
of  Bildad  and  Zophar  by  greater  calmness  and  elaboration,  and  in  the 
first  instance  by  greater  gentleness  towards  Job,  although  he  ventures  after- 
wards, apparently  from  conjecture,  to  impute  to  him  special  sins.  The  great 
truth  brought  out  by  him  is  the  unapproachable  majesty  and  purity  of  God 
(iv.  12-21,  XV.  12-16).  But  still,  with  the  other  two  friends,  he  is  condemned 
for  having,  in  defence  of  God's  providence,  spoken  of  him,  "the  thing  that 
was  not  right,"  i.e.f  by  refusing  to  recognise  the  facts  of  human  life,  and  by 
contenting  himself  with  an  imperfect  retribution  as  worthy  to  set  forth  the 
righteousness  of  God.  On  sacrifice  and  the  intercessiort  of  Job  all  three  are 
pardoned. — Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 


Chapter  xi. 

THE  FIRST  SPEECH  OP  ZOPHAR. 

II. 

"  For  thou  hast  said,  My  doctrine  is  pure,  and  I  am  clean  in  thine  eyes " 
(V.4). 

THIS  is  both  right  and  wrong.  Everything  depends  upon 
the  relations  in  which  we  set  the  statement  which  is  now 
made.  Job  had  made  this  whole  affair  into  a  question  of 
words — the  larger  words  and  better  called  in  the  fourth  verse 
"  doctrine,"  a  word  which  comes  from  a  root  which  signifies  "  to 
receive."  Job  had  received  certain  teaching,  certain  theories  of 
the  universe  and  of  human  life,  and  in  spite  of  all  contradictory 
facts  he  declared  that  his  doctrine  was  pure,  and  that  he  himself 
was  clean  in  God's  eye.  Yet  it  was  wrong  to  make  this  con- 
troversy a  personal  question  at  all.  What  is  any  one  man, 
though  great  as  Job,  that  he  should  set  himself  up  against  the 
whole  scheme  of  things  as  it  has  been  interpreted  for  ages? 
The  three  comforters  represented  old  time,  historic  teaching, 
actual  human  experience,  and  they  brought  all  that  they  knew 
of  human  history  to  bear  upon  a  solitary  instance;  and  their 
reasoning  was :  The  whole  scheme  of  things  cannot  give  way 
before  a  particular  instance  :  after  all,  Job  represents  but  one  set 
of  facts  :  somehow  or  other  he  has  come  into  very  unhappy 
relations  with  other  things ;  but  we  must  not  break  up  the 
universe,  and  reconstruct  it,  in  order  to  harmonize  all  things 
with  Job's  experience.  Job  never  leaves  the  personal  aspect  of 
the  case.  Nor  was  this  to  be  wondered  at.  He  suffered  so 
deeply  and  so  largely,  not  only  as  to  himself  but  as  to  his  family 
and  to  his  property ;  it  was  natural,  therefore,  that  he  should 
make  a  very  highly  personal  matter  of  the  whole  thing.  Yet, 
if  he  could  have  taken  the  larger  view,  he  would  have  seen  what 
never  discloses  itself  to  merely  personal  suffering  and  individual 


Jobxi.]  FJRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  91 

experience ;  he  would  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  largeness  of 
things ;  and  if  he  had  set  up  his  personal  grief  against  the  woe 
which  moans  at  the  heart  of  the  universe,  he  would  have  felt  that 
his  sorrow  after  all  was  not  so  large  and  important  ^s  he  had  at 
one  time  supposed  it  to  be.  The  instruction  of  the  narrative  is 
that  we  must  enlarge  our  view.  Even  in  personal  suffering  we 
must  take  the  social  or  universal  conception  of  things ;  we  must 
bring  the  power  of  an  endless  life  to  bear  upon  the  things  of  the 
passing  moment :  in  a  word,  we  must  govern  time — little,  dying, 
misleading  time — by  solemn,  grand  eternity. 

Zophar's  reply  was,  therefore,  fearlessly  critical;  then  it 
became  deeply  religious.  "  But  oh  that  God  would  speak,  and 
open  his  lips  against  thee ! "  We  three  have  spoken,  but  our 
words  seem  to  have  produced  no  effect.  Human  words  come 
back  to  human  speakers;  human  controversy  swings  round  a 
very  little  sphere :  oh  that  God  would  join  this  solemn  talk, 
and  speak  to  thee  from  high  heaven !  God  is  in  this  matter 
somewhere  :  up  to  this  point,  so  far  as  we  know,  he  has  been 
silent, — oh  that  he  would  just  utter  one  sentence!  it  would 
be  brighter  than  the  morning  light,  it  would  be  larger  than 
the  whole  firmament  as  to  its  meaning :  we  wrestle,  and 
endeavour  to  explain;  we  attempt  to  sympathise,  but  all  our 
efforts  are  futile.  There  comes  a  time  in  human  experience 
when  we  say,  with  great  meaning  in  our  voice,  God  must 
take  up  this  thing ;  Eliphaz  the  seer  has  spoken,  Bildad  the 
traditionalist  and  historian  has  spoken,  Zophar  the  fearless  and 
orthodox  critic  has  spoken,  and  we  make  no  progress  in  the 
cultivation  of  this  desert, — oh  that  God  would  begin  the  work  ! 
That  same  point  occurs  in  individual  training,  in  family  ex- 
perience, in  national  affairs;  we  are  brought  round  again  and 
again  to  the  vital  point,  at  which  there  is  startled  out  of  us  some 
cry  for  religious  illumination  and  comfort.  Zophar  would 
therefore  refer  Job  to  God.  "And  that  he  would  show  thee 
the  secrets  of  wisdom," — the  inner  causes,  the  hidden  springs, 
the  vital  lines.  Wisdom  is  always  secret,  but  there  becomes 
an  aggravated  secret  in  wisdom  when  we  think  we  have 
answered  the  first  mystery.  Wisdom  is  all  difficult ;  it  is  inter- 
volved,  complicated,  wrought   into  itself  with  curious  working 


92  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxi. 

so  that  one  part  belongs  to  another,  and  the  whole  constitutes 
a  revelation.  Wisdom  is  not  a  thing  to  be  snatched  at.  We  do 
not  acquire  wisdom  by  simply  opening  our  eyes,  and  walking 
abroad,  and  returning  to  our  usual  occupations  and  enjoyments ; 
wisdom  is  as  hidden  silver  that  must  be  dug  for;  yea,  we  must 
search  for  it,  we  must  begin  early,  and  work  long,  and  tarry 
whilst  the  light  lingers :  my  son,  get  wisdom,  get  understanding ; 
with  all  thy  gettings  get  understanding :  she  is  to  be  run  after, 
sought  after,  suffered  for;  she  comes  after  long  wooing, — ^yea, 
after  fullest  sacrifice  and  devotion.  Have  no  faith  in  superficial 
wisdom,  in  ready  answers,  in  off-handed  deliverances  from 
immediate  evil.  Get  on  the  vital  line ;  connect  yourselves  with 
the  Well-head  of  the  universe ;  live  and  move  and  have  your 
begin  in  God.  Many  have  the  letter  of  wisdom  who  have  not 
its  spirit.  Zophar  points  Job  to  the  secrets  of  wisdom,  the 
little,  minute,  hidden  beginning  of  things ;  he  would  bring  him 
back  to  germs,  and  molecules,  and  the  very  plasm  of  wisdom. 
Knowledge  is  less  than  wisdom  :  wisdom  is  ennobled,  sanctified, 
and  rightly-directed  knowledge ;  yea,  it  is  more  than  this ;  it 
cannot  explain  itself,  but  it  is  justified  of  its  children ;  it  comes 
up  again  and  again  in  a  thousand  forms  and  hues,  and  time 
confirms  with  willing  endorsement  all  its  predictions  and  all  its 
principles.  Then  Zophar  would  have  Job  shown  that  the  secrets 
of  wisdom  "are  double  to  that  which  is."  An  extraordinary 
expression  in  English.  The  meaning  is,  that  he  would  have 
Job  see  that  the  secrets  of  wisdom  are  fold  upon  fold;  not 
simplex — that  which  is  on  the  surface,  one  only,  to  be  taken 
up  and  laid  down  with  ease,  a  work  that  a  child  might  do;  but 
complex,  one  fold  upon  another,  one  fold  passing  through  another, 
— manifoldness,  as  the  Revised  Version  has  it,  "manifold  in 
effectual  working " ;  that  is,  not  superficial,  not  lineal,  not  com- 
prehensible at  a  glance,  but  a  matter  of  interpenetration,  mutual 
balancing,  a  mysterious,  continuous,  beneficent  working  together. 
Zophar  said,  therefore,  in  effect — Oh  that  God  would  show  thee 
how  rich  wisdom  is  in  holy  secrets,  and  how  more  than  double 
everything  is !  What  an  intertangled  and  complicated  creation 
we  live  in  !  What  an  amazing  labyrinth  !  Yet  he  who  has 
the  clue  can  thread  all  its  mazes  and  find  his  way  to  God.  This 
is  not  the  man  to  be  condemned  by  commentators,  as  they  have 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  93 

condemned  Zophar.  He  seems  now  to  have  laid  hold  of  the 
centre  and  reality  of  things.  There  may  have  been  something 
exasperating  in  his  tone,  or  the  commentators  could  not  have 
been  so  hard  upon  him ;  but  the  exasperation  was  only  vocal : 
surely  here  is  a  soul  that  grapples  with  vital  difficulties,  and 
that  hands  heaven's  own  key  to  the  man  who  stands  perplexed 
before  a  gate  which  he  cannot  open.  We  should  think  much 
about  this  complication  of  affairs.  All  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  Life  is  not  a  long,  straight, 
monotonous  path,  from  the  beginning  of  which  we  can  see 
the  end  :  nature  is  engaged  in  a  marvellous  chemistry ;  she  is 
very  particular,  too,  that  we  should  compound  our  elements 
and  constituents  aright,  not  only  that  we  should  have  the  right 
things,  but  the  right  proportions  of  them ;  otherwise  that  benign 
Alma  Mater  will  see  that  the  result  comes  out  wrong,  and 
afflict  us  with  keen  disappointment  Everything  in  nature  is 
working  together  with  some  other  thing;  yea,  who  shall  say 
whether  all  things  are  not  coherent,  mutually  related,  the  whole 
body  knit  and  ''  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplies  "  ? 
Better,  therefore,  often  be  quiet.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  can 
stand  still  and  sa}',  God  must  work  out  the  residue  of  this 
process,  for  I  can  do  nothing  further :  I  will  look  on,  I  will  pray 
for  keen  eyes  that  I  may  see  somewhat  of  God's  method,  for 
he  only  can  perfect  that  which  is  begun  in  wisdom.  Let  us 
stand  there.  Do  not  believe  in  any  superficial  theory  of  life. 
Distrust  anything  that  comes  before  you  with  a  bald  simplicity. 
Life  is  not  a  series  of  unrelated  pebbles;  it  is  not  a  mere 
proximity  of  atoms;  it  is  a  coherent,  massive,  united  temple, 
whose  pinnacles  glitter  in  the  smile  of  God.  Put  away  from 
you  every  teacher  who  gives  you  to  feel  that  life  is  but  a  varied 
flippancy,  and  that  the  most  frivolous  mind  can  comprehend 
any  portion  of.  the  ways  of  God. 

Zophar,  having  been  fearlessly  critical,  and  deeply  religious, 
now  turns  and  becomes  morally  just.  Hear  what  he  says  at  the 
end  of  the  sixth  verse  :  "  Know  therefore  that  God  exacteth  01 
thee  less  than  thine  iniquity  deserveth."  The  meaning  would 
seem  to  be  this  :  Job,  thou  hast  occupied  thine  own  point  of  view 
long  enough,  now  endeavour  to  take  God's  point  of  view,  and 


94  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxi. 

look  at  all  circumstances  from  that  high  altitude.  This  we  are 
bound  to  do,  if  we  would  be  just  even  towards  God.  We  see 
only  our  own  personality,  we  feel  only  our  own  suffering ;  we  do 
not  set  ourselves  at  the  head  and  spring  of  things,  and  observe  how 
all  the  universe  is  affected  by  what  is  known  as  coming  under 
the  term  sin  or  iniquity, — yea,  we  have  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that 
the  sinner  hurts  only  himself ;  we  say  of  some  poor  wanderers, 
After  all,  they  do  but  injure  themselves ;  the  drunkard  injures 
himself  Nothing  of  the  kind.  No  man  liveth  unto  himself — in 
any  sense.  No  sin  can  be  committed  without  a  shadow  passing 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  universe.  We  have  trifled  with  sin  ; 
and  because  we  have  lost  the  right  conception  of  sin  we  have  lost 
the  right  conception  of  grace.  Zophar  takes  the  right  ground  ; 
he  says,  Whatever  suffering  any  man  endures,  he  endures  less 
than  God  might  in  justice  inflict  upon  him.  That  is  a  grave  and 
solemn  doctrine.  If  that  is  true  it  should  itself  be  to  us  a  great 
comfort.  If  we  have  anything  left  of  life  or  hope,  God  has  not 
inflicted  upon  us  all  the  punishment  which  one  sin  deserves. 
We  must  not  take  our  own  definition  of  sin,  as  if  we  had  been 
present  in  eternity  and  foreseen  the  whole  structure  of  the 
universe,  all  its  processes  and  its  destiny  :  what  sin  is  must  be 
revealed  to  us  :  another  voice,  not  our  own,  must  tell  us  what 
sin  really  means.  One  solitary  rebellion  has  in  the  heart  of  it 
this  meaning,  namely,  God  must  be  dethroned.  Is  that  the 
meaning  of  one  lie  ?  Yes.  Is  that  the  signification  of  one  self- 
willed  thought  ?  It  is.  Not  on  the  surface.  We  seem  to  have 
run  into  the  easy  but  culpable  method  of  considering  that  only 
one  sin  has  been  done.  There  is  no  sin  that  is  only  one  sin. 
Every  sin  belongs  to  an  innumerable  progeny  and  ancestry  and 
association.  The  great  lesson,  therefore,  which  Zophar  teaches 
is,  that  however  much  we  may  be  suffering,  if  God  were  to  be 
really  just  in  inflicting  upon ,  us  an  adequate  punishment  we 
should  be  crushed  out  of  existence.  Let  us,  then,  take  God's 
standpoint.  Do  not  limit  the  field  of  inquiry.  Do  not  suppose 
that  there  is  only  one  party  to  the  great  controversy  which  rends 
human  life.  How  if  it  should  turn  out  at  last  that  our  very 
punishment  has  been  meted  to  us  in  mercy  ?  What  if  at  the 
end  it  should  be  found  that  adversity  was  a  veiled  evangel  sent 
from  heaven  to  bring  us  home  ? 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR,  95 

Now  see  how  grand  a  conception  Zophar  has  of  the  nature  of 
the  living  God : 

"Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty 
unto  perfection  ?  It  is  as  high  as  heaven ;  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper 
than  hell ;  what  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure  thereof  is  longer  than  the 
earth,  and  broader  than  the  sea  "  (w.  7-9). 

We  have  come  to  the  same  conclusion  even  with  regard  to 
inferior  quantities  and  forces.  We  are  able  to  confirm  the  testi- 
mony of  Zophar.  Take  space.  How  glibly  we  speak  about  it  I 
We  lay  a  measuring-line  upon  it,  and  say,  This  line  is  five  hundred 
thousand  millions  of  miles  long!  Is  there  any  continuation  of 
that  line  ?  Yes.  What  is  the  whole  sum,  O  thou  arithmetician, 
man  of  numbers  ?  The  arithmetician  says — I  cannot  tell ;  the 
mathematician  may  tell.  What  is  the  sum-total  of  space,  O  mathe- 
matician, the  glorified  arithmetician,  the  arithmetician  with- 
wings  ?  Tell  us,  thou  adventurous  calculator.  And  the  mathe- 
matician hands  down  to  us  a  symbol.  We  ask  him  what  is  the 
meaning  of  this  symbol,  and  he  says  it  stands  for  infinity.  Is 
that  all  thou  canst  tell  us  about  space  ?  Yes.  When  we  have 
gone  through  a  certain  number  of  miles  we  pause,  and  say,  The 
rest  is  infinite.  You  say  that  about  space  ?  Yes.  Not  about  a 
life,  or  a  theology,  or  a  mysterious  doctrine,  but  about  plain 
space — the  thing  we  ourselves  occupy  ?  And  the  mathematician 
answers  Yes :  measurement  expires  in  infinity,  so  be  it.  Take 
time  :  we  count  our  days  by  thousands  ;  we  speak  about  "  ancient 
history,"  and  we  speak  also,  eloquently,  about  "future  ages"; 
now  tell  us,  how  many  are  there  of  them  ?  And  the  answer  is 
— a  negative.  We  can  speak  of  millions  of  years  multiplied  by 
millions  of  years ;  yea,  taking  a  very  huge  figure  we  can  cube  it 
— will  that  express  the  duration  of  time?  The  answer  is — a 
negative.  Then  how  shall  we  represent  the  proper  duration  01 
time?  The  answer  is,  by  this  expression,  namely — For  ever 
and  ever.  Poor  arithmeticians,  miserable  calculators !  We  sent 
you  out  to  bring  back  the  whole  thing  scheduled  and  put  down 
before  us  in  plain  figures,  and  see  you  have  come  pantingly  back, 
and  say.  Space  runs  off"  into  infinity ;  time  expands  into  for  ever 
and  ever.  Is  that  all  you  can  tell  us  ?  That  is  all  1  Why,  then, 
if  this  be  so  about  space  and  time,  what  about  life,  the  duration 
of  sentient  existence,  the  continuity  of  all  that  we  mean  by  the 


96  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  Qobxi. 

higher  faculties  of  man  ?  Tell  us,  thou  biologist ;  thou  wilt  be 
able  to  speak  with  a  clearer  tongue  than  the  mathematician,  or 
the  man  who  philosophises  about  time ;  thou  art  a  more  severely 
scientific  man  : — What  is  life  ?  hast  thou  seen  it  ? — ^No.  Touched 
it  ? — indirectly.  Measured  it  ? — never.  Space  runs  into  infinity, 
time  runs  into  eternity,  life  runs  into  GOD !  Who,  then,  are  the 
fanatics,  the  enthusiasts  ?  Not  they  who  take  a  solemn  view  of 
the  universe ;  not  the  men  who  reason  by  analogy,  saying,  If 
space  can  but  be  represented  by  infinity,  and  time  by  eternity, 
it  is  at  least  possible  that  life  can  only  be  truly  represented  by 
the  term  God,  the  all,  the  infinite,  the  eternal,  as  applied  to 
sentiency,  to  all  the  mystery  of  life.  Here,  then,  we  take  our 
stand.  We  believe  in  these  holy  principles.  They  elevate  us ; 
they  ennoble  us ;  they  save  us  from  all  the  mistakes  of  flippancy ; 
they  humble  us ;  they  chasten  us ;  they  make  us  pray. 


SELECTED  NOTE. 

ZopHAR,  one  of  Job's  three  friends  and  opponents  in  argument  (Job  ii.  II, 
xi.  I,  XX.  I,  xlii.  9).  He  is  called  a  Naamathite,  or  inhabitant  of  Naamah, 
a  place  whose  situation  is  unknown,  as  it  could  not  be  the  Naamah  mentioned 
in  Josh.  XV.  41.  Wemyss,  in  his  Job  and  his  Times  (p.  Ill),  well  characterises 
this  interlocutor  :  "  Zophar  exceeds  the  other  two,  if  possible,  in  severity  of 
censure;  he  is  the  most  inveterate  of  the  accusers,  and  speaks  without 
feeling  or  pity.  He  does  little  more  than  repeat  and  exaggerate  the  argu- 
ments of  Bildad.  He  unfeelingly  alludes  (xi.  15)  to  the  effects  of  Job's 
disease  as  appearing  in  his  countenance.  This  is  cruel  and  invidious.  Yet 
in  the  same  discourse  how  nobly  does  he  treat  of  the  divine  attributes, 
showing  that  any  inquiry  into  them  is  far  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  human 
mind,  and  though  the  hortatory  part  of  the  first  discourse  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Eliphaz,  yet  it  is  diversified  by  the  fine  imagery  which  he 
employs.  He  scenes  to  have  had  a  full  conviction  of  the  providence  of  God,  as 
regulating  and  controlling  the  actions  of  men  ;  but  he  limits  all  his  reasonings 
to  a  present  life,  and  makes  no  reference  to  a  future  world.  This  circumstance 
alone  accounts  for  the  weakness  and  fallacy  of  these  men's  judgments.  In 
his  second  discourse  there  is  much  poetical  beauty  in  the  selection  of  images, 
and  the  general  doctrine  is  founded  in  truth ;  its  fallacy  lies  is  in  its 
appUcation  to  Job's  peculiar  case.  The  whole  indicates  great  warmth  of 
temper,  imflamed  by  misapprehension  of  its  object  and  by  mistaken  zeaL" 


PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  if  thou  wilt  hear  us,  in  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son,  thy  hearing 
shall  be  as  an  answer.  It  is  good  to  speak  unto  the  Lord ;  our  souls  are 
enlarged  and  ennobled  as  they  look  up  from  the  cross  to  seek  the  Father 
that  is  in  heaven.  We  have  found  thee  in  Christ ;  he  has  told  us  thy  will  and 
thy  purpose,  and  somewhat  of  thy  method,  and  we  are  now  enabled  to  say, 
Thou  hast  done  all  things  well.  All  things  become  more  beautiful  and 
greater  and  tenderer  as  we  associate  them  with  thy  name  and  strength; 
they  are  sacred  when  we  know  that  they  are  thine.  The  grass  of  the  field 
is  thine,  though  to-day  it  is,  and  to-morrow  it  is  cast  into  the  oven  and  is 
forgotten.  Still,  even  a  day  is  part  of  thine  eternity,  and  a  grass-blade  is 
part  of  thy  property.  Not  a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground  without  our 
Father.  Thou  dost  notice  all  things,  our  downsitting  and  our  uprising; 
thou  dost  beset  us  behind  and  before,  and  lay  thine  hand  upon  us,  and  take 
an  account  of  all  our  ways.  Surely  when  thou  art  seeking  for  us  thou  art 
seeking  for  thyself:  how  else  could  thy  love  be  so  great,  so  burning,  so  free, 
so  universal  ?  Are  we  not  made  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God  ?  Is  not 
the  seal  of  divinity  upon  us  even  in  our  weakness  ?  Are  we  not  conscious  that 
we  are  more  than  ourselves  ?  Truly  we  have  felt  in  our  hearts  uprisings 
and  throbbings  which  have  told  of  things  that  are  infinite  in  mystery  and  in 
glory.  We  understand  nothing,  but  how  much  we  feel,  what  we  know  by 
bur  hearts,  what  understanding  we  have  through  our  love ;  these  are  the 
ways  by  which  thou  dost  come  into  our  spirits,  and  by  which  thou  dost  set 
up  thy  kingdom  within  us.  We  know  how  poor  we  are,  and  weak  and 
foolish,  yea,  how  sinful,  how  criminality  is  written  upon  all  we  are  and  do ; 
and  yet  below  all,  and  round  about  all,  and  higher  than  all,  there  are  signs 
of  divine  regard  and  infinite  possibility,  and  amid  all  the  garments  of  sin 
we  feel  the  beating  and  pulsing  of  immortality.  We  bless  thee  for  these 
feelings,  though  they  are  not  daily,  though  they  come  but  now  and  then 
yet  in  their  very  coming  they  show  us  that  they  would  come  more  frequently, 
and  that  one  day,  if  we  live  in  Christ  and  Christ  live  in  us,  we  shall  be' free 
of  all  hindrances  and  limitations,  and  shall  serve  in  heaven,  in  the  freedom 
of  the  blessed,  without  weariness,  without  sense  of  failure,  and  with  ever- 
increasing  joy,  and  thankfulness,  and  rest.  Pity  all  hearts  that  need  thy 
tenderest  ministry.  Some  hearts  are  broken,  some  spirits  are  wounded, 
some  lives  are  but  a  gathering  up  of  disappointment  and  anxiety :  come 
thou  whose  delight  it  is  to  heal,  and  restore  gladness  to  the  soul  that 
is  in  distress.  Work,  thou  Mighty  One;  control  and  rule  and  reign  thou 
only;  for  thy  right  it  is ;  and  give  us  all  to  feel,  through  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  blessed  Son  of  God,  how  sweet  a  delight  is  obedience,  how 
gracious  a  life  is  led  when  it  is  led  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Cross.  Amen. 
VOL.   XI.  7 


98  THE  PEOPLE  'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxi. 

Chapter  xi. 

THE  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR. 

III. 

THERE  is  a  vital  expression  in  the  fourth  verse,  "  For  thou 
hast  said,  My  doctrine  is  pure."     We  have  come  upon  an 
age  which  cares  little  for  doctrine.     We  are,  in  fact,  somewhat 
afraid  of  that  antiquated  term.     We  prefer  anecdote  to  doctrine, 
and  concrete  instances  to  elaborate  spiritual  demonstrations.     An 
anecdote  will  be    remembered    and  rehearsed   when    the   finest 
argument  ever  invented  by  human  genius,  and  ever  supported  by 
human  eloquence,  is  utterly  forgotten.     "  'T  is  true  :  and  pity  't  is 
't  is  true."     For  what  is  life  without  doctrine ; — that  is  to  say, 
without  teaching,  without  sound  intellectual  conviction,  without 
high  moral  purpose,  without  that  solid  and  dignified  reason  which 
is  at   once   the   crown   and   glory   of   human    life  ?     Why   this 
contempt  as   regards  doctrine,  when  every  action  ought  to  be 
an  embodied  philosophy  ?     Every  attitude  we  take  upon  every 
question  ought  to  express  an  inward  and  spiritual   conviction. 
Where  the  doctrine  is  wrong  the  life  cannot  be  right.     We  are 
not  now  speaking  of  purely  metaphysical  doctrine,  but  of  that 
vital  teaching  which  affects  all  thought  and  the  outgoing  of  all 
life  :  and  if  a  man  is  operating  upon  wrong  philosophies,  wrong 
principles,  mistaken  convictions,  all  the  issue  of  his  life  is  but 
an  elaborate  and  mischievous  mistake.    In  this  instance,  however, 
Zophar  corrected  Job  because  he  understood  that  Job  was  making 
the  whole  case  only  a  matter  of  words.     If  by  "  doctrine  "  you 
understand  nothing   but   words,   then   any   contempt   you   may 
award  to  it  may  be  justly  bestowed.     Zophar  thought  that  Job 
was  refining  too  much,  balancing  words,  inventing  and  colouring 
sentences,  and   making  a  kind  of  verbal  rainbow  round  about 
himself:    therefore   he   took   to   a   severe   chastisement   of  the 
patriarch.      Zophar  was  mistaken ;  Job  was   really   basing  his 
argument   on   those   sound   and   eternal   principles   which   give 
security  to  life  and  hope  to  all  futurity. 

Then   in   the  twelfth   verse  we  come   upon  a  still  stranger 
expression : 
'  For  vain  man  would  be  wise,  though  man  be  bom  like  a  wild  ass's  colt,** 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  99 

Nobody  has  explained  these  words  to  any  other  person's 
satisfaction.  Each  commentator  has  a  view  of  his  own.  The 
one  which  seems  to  be  supported  by  the  strongest  reasoning  is 
that  which  represents  Zophar  as  saying  :  Man  is  born  low  down  ; 
still,  there  is  something  in  him  that  kindles  at  the  very  word 
Wisdom  :  he  is  like  a  wild  ass's  colt  by  nature ;  he  is  made  up 
of  a  strange  mystery  of  passion  and  selfishness,  ignorance  and 
philosophy,  but  all  the  time  there  is  something  in  him  that  says  : 
Go  forward,  climb  higher;  even  yet  the  lower  nature  may  be 
vanquished,  and  the  higher  nature  may  be  assumed  and  possessed 
and  enjoyed.  It  is  something  to  have  amongst  us  men  who  speak 
words  of  hope.  It  would  be  dreary  living  if  our  prophets  were 
to  take  simply  to  upbraiding  us  because  of  the  lowliness  of  our 
origin ;  they  would  be  children  of  night,  they  would  belong  to 
the  school  of  darkness,  who  kept  harping  upon  the  fact  that  we 
were  born  like  a  wild  ass's  colt,  and  there  is  no  hope  of  our  ever 
becoming  anything  else.  Blessed  be  those  brighter-minded  men 
who  come  amongst  us,  saying :  However  low-born  you  were, 
you  may  become  a  prince;  however  humble  your  origin,  you 
may  stand  among  the  crowned  ones  in  light ;  however  poor  your 
beginning — a  beginning  in  orphanage  and  poverty  and  lowliness 
— you  may  become  wealthy  in  thought,  in  purest  feeling,  and  in 
philanthropic  devotion.  Listen  to  these  voices  :  they  come  from 
above;  they  confirm  the  divinity  of  their  message  by  the  very 
tenderness  of  their  humanity. 

Now  Zophar,  the  much  condemned,  follows  the  example  of 
Eliphaz,  and  concludes  his  speech  by  a  very  noble  appeal.  He 
writes  what  we  may  call  a  spiritual  directory.  He  preaches  to 
one  man,  and  so  preaches  that  every  word  is  marked  by  gravity, 
sympathy,  and  wisdom ;  therefore  he  was  a  great  preacher. 
They  are  poor  preachers  who  can  only  address  a  thousand 
people  at  once.  Sometimes  it  is  said — by  persons  who  would 
say  better  if  they  knew  better — that  an  audience  of  ten  thousand 
men  is  enough  to  inspire  any  speaker.  Nothing  of  the  kind. 
He  is  the  great  preacher  who  sees  the  one  man.  He  who  sees 
one  man  aright  sees  all  men,  and  he  is  a  hireling  and  a  left- 
handed  labourer  who  can  never  rise  to  the  dignity  of  the  occasion 
except  when  inflamed  by  numerical  appearances.     See  Zophar : 


loo  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxi. 

how  his  voice  deepens  and  sharpens,  how  his  eye  kindles,  how 
he  comes  a  pace  nearer  the  patriarch  when  he  begins  to  preach 
to  him  I  What  a  discourse  it  was !  Not  one  waste  word  in  it 
all.  What  a  gift  of  terseness  I  How  Zophar  could  strike  without 
wounding,  be  precise  without  being  severe,  and  preach  a  gospel 
such  as  the  poor,  beclouded,  fear-driven  heart  needed  to  hear. 
Therefore,  to  return  to  the  point  from  which  we  started,  we 
cannot  join  the  nearly  universal  condemnation  which  has  been 
poured  upon  Zophar;  we  rather  draw  towards  him  as  if  with 
some  sense  of  old  kinship.  We  somewhat  like  even  his  sword. 
Wherever  he  strikes  he  cuts  the  object  right  in  two;  there  is 
no  mangling,  no  mere  wounding,  no  half-done  work :  it  was  a 
scimitar  that  cut  off  Whatever  it  aimed  at.  Then  how  tender  he 
could  become,  how  philosophical,  how  gracious,  how  sympathetic! 
We  have  seen  how  he  looked  up  to  God,  and  described  him  in 
terms  that  have  never  been  surpassed  for  graphic  vividness  and 
spiritual  grandeur.  Few  men  could  turn  from  that  upward  look, 
and  fasten  their  eyes  pityingly  upon  human  suffering,  and  address 
that  suffering  as  Zophar  addressed  the  patriarch.  Let  us  regard 
this  concluding  part  of  his  speech  as  what  we  have  termed  a 
spiritual  directory;  then  we  shall  see  what  we  ought  to  do  in 
similar  circumstances. 

**  If  thou  prepare  thine  heart"  (v.  13), 

That  is  vital  talk.  This  man  is  not  playing  with  the  occasion. 
He  says  in  effect :  All  great  questions  turn  upon  the  condition  of 
the  heart :  these  are  not  circumstances  in  which  men  may  be 
wordy,  opinionative,  justifying  themselves  by  long-continued 
arguments  that  have  nothing  in  them  of  really  sound  sense :  the 
heart  must  be  prepared.  "  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so 
is  he.'*  He  may  never  tell  what  is  in  his  heart.  The  heart  has 
wondrous  power  of  self-involution  and  impenetrable  secrecy ; 
it  looks  out  of  the  eyes,  yet  no  man  may  see  it ;  it  observes,  but 
is  not  observed ;  it  whispers  to  itself  in  a  tone  so  low  that  no 
one  else  can  hear  it ;  it  dreams,  it  invents,  it  creates  little  heavens 
for  its  own  enjoyment ;  it  reconstructs  the  universe  in  imagina- 
tion that  it  may  luxuriate  in  it,  and  even  in  silence  it  may  be 
holding  festival,  and  when  nothing  seems  to  be  going  on  the 
heart  may  be  holding  high  revel.     A  marvellous,  mysterious, 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR.  loi 

impenetrable  thing  is  that  awful  human  heart !  Zophar  took  his 
stand  upon  these  convictions,  and  said,  "  If  thou  prepare  thine 
heart,"  and  then  he  adds — the  prepared  heart  will  have  an  effect 
upon  the  hands — "  and  stretch  out  thine  hands  toward  him  " 
— make  even  a  mute  appeal.  In  Oriental  lands  the  outstretched 
hands  were  a  sign  of  prayer;  though  not  one  word  was  spoken, 
yet  the  opened  palms  meant  an  appeal,  the  uplifted  hands  meant 
human  need  of  divine  help.  A  very  graphic  image;  a  most 
suggestive  attitude.  What  have  we  in  this  double  exercise — a 
heart  prepared,  hands  stretched  out  ?  Zophar  says,  If  thou  canst 
assume  these  two  positions,  certain  consequences  will  follow,  and 
none  can  prevent  their  issue. 

"  If  iniquity  be  in  thine  hand,  put  it  far  away  "  (v.  14). 

Zophar  insists  upon  both  hands  being  open.  He  will  not  have 
one  hand  outstretched  towards  heaven,  and  the  other  doubled 
in  miserlike  grip  upon  some  idolised  sin;  he  will  have  both 
hands  up,  both  hands  open,  all  the  fingers  spread  out,  so  that  no 
jugglery  shall  be  able  to  conceal  even  the  shadow  of  a  sin. 
Zophar  was  in  very  deed  a  practical  preacher.  He  did  not  seek 
to  please  his  audience,  but  to  profit  those  who  listened.  He 
would  speak  directly,  pithily,  clearly,  vitally.  There  was  no 
escaping  that  man ;  he  burned  with  earnestness.  But  Job  might 
assume  the  attitude  of  a  man  whose  heart  was  prepared,  and 
whose  hands  were  ready  to  receive  blessing,  and  whose  hand 
was  not  concealing  iniquity,  and  yet  he  might  have  left  his  little 
idols  all  at  home.  Zophar  knew  that,  and  therefore  he  went 
home  with  Job  and  said — *'Let  not  wickedness  dwell  in  thy 
tabernacles : "  clean  out  the  corners :  sweep  out  the  recesses  : 
tear  out  every  secret  thing  :  turn  all  upside  down.  What  wonder 
if  some  of  the  commentators  have  disliked  this  young  speaker — 
yellow-haired,  radiant  man,  flaming  prophet  of  the  soul  ?  What 
age  could  stand  such  preaching  as  Zophar's  ?  There  is  nothing 
pleasant  in  it.  It  is  wholly  destitute  of  anecdote.  It  is  all 
direct  appeal.  Zophar  never  takes  his  eyes  from  Job ;  he  leaves 
Job  under  no  false  impression  as  to  his  purpose,  and  the  meaning 
of  that  one  solemn  interview. 

Having  complied  with  all  these  conditions,  what  is  the  issue 
according  to  Zophar? 


102  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxi. 

"  For  then  shalt  thou  lift  up  thy  face  without  spot ;  yea,  thou  shalt  be 
stedfast,  and  shalt  not  fear  "  (v.  15). 

And  by  no  other  process  could  that  consequence  be  realised. 
It  is  in  vain  to  daub  the  wall  with  unteippered  mortar;  it  is 
worse  than  vain  to  call,  Peace,  peace;  when  there  is  no  peace. 
The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  fear  is  by  the  consolidation  and  con- 
tinual increase  of  faith ;  where  such  increase  takes  place,  love 
concurrently  grows,  and  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear.  Observe 
the  attitude  of  the  good  man :  his  face  is  lifted  up,  without  spot, 
without  stain,  without  blush,  without  one  sign  of  servility ;  he 
has  become  right  with  God,  and,  therefore,  he  lifts  up  his  face, 
without  sign  of  trepidation  or  apprehension  or  misgiving.  A 
wonderful  blessedness  this  to  be  without  fear !  Who  has  attained 
that  wealth  ?  Who  does  not  look  down  as  if  he  were  afraid  to 
look  up,  as  if  the  heavens  might  burn  him  with  scorching  fire 
did  he  but  turn  an  eye  to  their  exceeding  height  ?  Who  is  alto- 
gether without  fear  ?  Find  in  fear  a  sign  of  inferiority,  conscious 
weakness,  or  conscious  sin;  or  sign  of  inadequate  or  failing 
physical  constitution.  Do  not  regard  all  fear  as  meaning  that 
God  is  judge,  and  that  his  whole  look  towards  the  life  is  a  look 
of  condemnation.  Nothing  of  the  kind.  Some  men  are  born 
children  of  fear.  They  are  not  to  be  blamed  ;  the  fear  is  con- 
stitutional ;  is  to  be  explained  by  physical  causes  and  influences : 
wherever  such  a  man  is  to  be  found  he  is  to  be  cheered,  encou- 
raged, lovingly  stimulated ;  he  is  to  be  told  that  the  body  is  fight- 
ing against  the  mind,  and  he  is  to  be  called  upon  to  see  that  the 
mind  goes  forth  to  the  battle  conscious  that  it  can  put  down  the 
body  even  in  its  most  passionate  clamour.  Without  such  dis- 
crimination great  harm  will  be  done.  Men  who  are  constitu- 
tionally dull,  fearful,  apprehensive  will  be  discouraged,  and  will 
turn  away  from  the  sanctuary,  and  will  seek  at  forbidden  altars 
the  recruital  and  renerving  of  their  depresijcd  system.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  the  fear  is  really  spiritual,  and  comes  out  of 
conscious  sin,  let  there  be  no  mistake  about  the  matter;  then 
Zophar  must  talk ;  his  words  must  be  like  sharp  swords,  and  his 
appeals  must  be  accentuated  as  if  with  flame.  Let  every  man 
judge  himself. 

About  the  misery  that  is  historical,  what  has  Zophar  to  say  ? 


Jobxi.]  FIRST   SPEECH  OF ZOPHAR,  103 

He  makes  a  beautiful  reference.     He  becomes  a  poet  when  he 
touches  the  days  of  vanished  grief — 

"  Because  thou  shall  forget  thy  misery,  and  remember  it  as  waters  that 
pass  away"  (v.  16). 

Is  it  not  true  that  there  is  something  in  us  which  enables  us 
soon  to  forget  misery  ?  One  fair  disclosure  of  sunlight  makes  us 
forget  all  the  darkness  of  the  past.  Who  can  remember  Night 
when  he  stands  amid  the  whitening  and  glorious  Morning  ?  The 
two  things  cannot  be  present  together  in  the  memory.  Wherever 
there  is  true  light  there  is  no  darkness.  "  God  is  light,  and  in 
him  is  no  darkness  at  all."  Walk  as  children  of  the  light,  walk 
in  God ;  and  as  for  the  night  of  misery,  we  may  have  it  recorded 
for"  the  sake  of  our  chastening  in  times  of  high  prosperity,  but  as 
an  active,  energetic,  and  hindering  influence  it  is  forgotten,  and 
has  no  more  any  power  against  us.  But  do  not  men  delight  to 
recall  the  days  of  misery?  Is  it  not  a  peculiarity  of  human 
nature  that  we  like  to  tell  what  sorrows  we  have  had,  to 
enumerate  them  in  painful  detail,  as  if  there  were  a  kind  of  joy 
in  their  very  recollection  and  re-statement  ?  If  we  were  right 
with  God  we  should  talk  much  about  mercies,  deliverances, 
happy  providences,  times  of  sunlight,  days  of  festival,  hours  of 
reunion,  and  should  have  no  memory  for  miseries  that  afflicted 
us  long  ago.  Let  us  grow  towards  thankfulness,  appreciation; 
and  there  is  only  one  way  of  growing  towards  these  high  realisa- 
tions, and  that  is  by  the  way  described  by  Zophar — a  preparation 
of  the  heart,  an  outstretching  of  the  hands,  a  putting  away  of 
iniquity  from  the  palms,  and  a  cleansing  of  the  tabernacle  of  all 
wickedness. 

Then  he  tells  Job  about  the  future : 

"  And  thine  age  shall  be  clearer  than  the  noonday ;  thou  shalt  shine  forth, 
thou  shalt  be  as  the  morning"  (v.  17). 

In  other  words.  Thou  shalt  never  be  an  old  man  :  however 
many  thy  years,  thy  lightness  of  heart,  thy  buoyancy  of  spirit, 
thy  conscious  union  with  God,  will  make  thee  forget  the  burden 
of  the  days,  and  thou  shalt  be  young  for  ever  :  at  eventide  there 
shall  be  ample  light.  **  And  thou  shalt  be  secure,  because  there 
is  hope ;  yea,  thou  shalt  dig  about  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  thy 


104  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxi. 

rest  in  safety.  Also  thou  shalt  lie  down,  and  none  shall  make 
thee  afraid;  yea,  many  shall  make  suit  unto  thee"  (vv.  i8,  19). 
Why,  this  was  the  gospel  before  the  time !  What  has  Paul  ever 
said  more  than  this  ?  In  kindred  eloquence  he  has  told  us  that 
all  things  are  ours,  that  all  triumphs  over  life,  death,  principalities, 
powers,  things  present,  things  to  come ;  but  in  no  degree  does  he 
excel  the  lofty  altitude  which  was  attained  by  Zophar  the  Naama- 
thite.  But  all  this  preaching  on  the  part  of  Zophar  and  of  Paul 
puts  a  tremendous  responsibility  upon  us.  What  if  we  who 
profess  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  are  as  fear-driven  as  the  men 
who  hold  the  cross  of  Christ  in  contempt  ?  What  if  we,  who 
profess  to  be  seeking  a  country  out  of  sight,  are  in  reality  anxious 
about  the  country  that  now  is  and  about  building  upon  founda- 
tions in  the  dust  ?  What  if  we  who  appear  to  be  sandalled  for 
a  journey  are  willing  to  tarry  at  any  wayside  inn  that  will  give 
us  meat  and  drink  free  of  cost?  What  if  we  perpetrate  the  irony 
of  attempting  to  look  to  heaven  whilst  in  reality  we  are  looking 
all  the  time  at  the  earth  ?  If  these  consequences  are  to  flow  from 
this  spiritual  condition,  and  if  we  have  not  realised  in  some 
degree  these  effects,  do  we  not  cause  a  tremendous  suspicion  to 
rest  upon  the  reality  of  our  Christian  profession  ? 

Now  all  the  men  have  spoken;  we  are  now,  therefore,  in  a 
position  to  look  at  the  case  as  if  it  were  in  some  measure 
complete.  Job  has  spoken,  and  spoken  much;  Eliphaz,  and 
Bildad,  and  Zophar  have  spoken;  but  they  are  up  to  this 
point  every  one  of  them  in  the  dark.  As  to  the  reality  of  the 
case  with  which  they  are  dealing,  they  know  nothing.  The  case 
has  never  been  explained  to  Job;  the  three  comforters  know 
nothing  about  the  reality  of  the  conditions  which  they  are 
attempting  to  discuss :  they  are  all  inflamed  with  some  measure 
of  unfriendliness  to  Job,  because  they  believe  that  he  has  sinned 
in  secret,  and  is  therefore  reaping  the  black  harvest  of  the  seed 
which  he  has  sown.  And  what  do  we  at  any  time  understand 
about  the  reality  of  our  own  condition  ?  We  speak  of  our  trials  : 
who  can  account  for  their  origin  ?  Who  knows  what  God  may 
have  said  to  the  enemy  of  souls  about  us  ?  Who  can  tell  what 
scheme,  proposed  in  hell  and  for  the  moment  sanctioned  in 
heaven,  is  taking  effect  in  relation  to  our  faith  and  our  integrity  ? 


Jobxi.]  FIRST  SPEECH  OF  ZOPHAR,  105 

The  Lord  said  unto  Satan  :  Job  will  withstand  thee ;  thou  canst 
not  destroy  his  faith  :  all  will  be  well  in  the  long  run.  The  devil 
said :  I  will  break  him  up ;  I  can  shatter  that  man :  take  away 
from  him  his  wealth,  his  family,  and  all  his  happy  circumstances, 
— break  up  the  environment — and  he  will  curse  thee  to  thy  face. 
The  Lord  said — No  :  life  is  not  a  question  of  environment  in 
its  largest  aspects ;  take  away  everything  he  has,  but  leave  his 
life,  and  Job  will  conquer.  About  this  Job  knew  nothing,  the 
three  friends  knew  nothing ;  the  great  controversy  was  proceed- 
ing whilst  these  men  were  all  in  ignorance  as  to  its  origin  and 
purpose.  The  same  holds  good  in  regard  to  ourselves.  We 
understand  nothing.  We  can  explain  nothing.  We  ought  to 
throw  ourselves  back  upon  history,  and  ask  to  be  instructed  and 
sobered  by  the  monitions  of  the  past.  This  view  we  might  take : 
Job  was  being  tried  without  Job  knowing  why ;  it  may  be  that 
we  are  being  tried  also,  that  by  the  constancy  of  our  faith  we 
may  disappoint  the  devil,  and  inflict  upon  him  the  humiliation 
of  a  noble  and  consistent  contradiction.  Take  that  view  of  your 
circumstances;  take  that  view  of  your  trials.  The  Lord  has 
laid  great  responsibilities  upon  us,  and  he  has  said  of  us,  My 
people  will  yet  conquer ;  they  may  be  tempted  and  sorely  tried 
and  impoverished ;  they  may  be  orphaned  and  desolated  and  left 
without  friends,  but  at  the  last  they  will  stand  up  a  conquering 
host.  Blessed  be  God,  he  seems  even  now,  by  some  mysterious 
exercise  of  his  grace,  to  have  faith  in  us  :  he  will  not  believe  the 
devil ;  he  will  say  of  us.  They  will  yet  conquer.  This  is  the  true 
method  of  education.  Stimulate  your  scholars;  place  faith  in 
them ;  say  to  the  boy  when  he  goes  forth  to  the  day's  battle : 
You  will  conquer,  you  will  win,  you  will  come  back  at  night  full 
of  joy;  hold  up  your  head,  and  you  will  return  like  a  hero, 
bringing  with  you  the  spoils  of  war.  Never  send  the  child  out 
under  a  cold  cloud,  under  a  threat,  or  under  the  feeling  that  you 
expect  to  be  disappointed;  rather  cheer  him  with  the  thought 
that  you  expect  him  to  come  back  with  his  shield — or  on  it ;  not 
a  wound  in  his  back ;  if  slain,  slain  in  the  front,  facing  the  foe. 
It  would  seem  as  if  God  were  now  so  trying  us,  and  looking  upon 
us,  and  as  if  he  had  pledged  his  word  that  at  the  last  the  soul  of 
his  Son  shall  be  satisfied. 


Chapters  xii.-xiv. 
JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS. 


*'  And  Job  answered  and  said,  No  doubt  but  ye  are  the  people,  and  wisdom 
shall  die  with  you  "  (xit  I,  2). 

THIS  was  unkind ;  but  very  human  I  Perhaps  it  was  pro- 
voked ;  for  we  think  we  have  discovered  a  tone  of  taunting 
in  the  three  eloquent  speeches  which  have  been  addressed  to 
the  patriarch.  Was  it  worthy  of  Job  to  return  taunt  for  taunt  ? 
Was  it  worthy  of  Elijah  to  mock  the  idolatrous  worshippers? 
We  must  not  separate  ourselves  from  the  human  race,  and 
stand  back  in  the  dignity  of  untouched  critics,  and  say  what 
was  worthy,  or  what  was  not  worthy;  we  must  rather 
identify  ourselves  with  the  broad  currents  of  human  experience, 
and  take  other  men  as  very  largely  representing  what  we 
would  have  done  under  the  same  circumstances.  "  There  is 
none  righteous,  no,  not  one."  Criticism  may  be  the  supreme 
vice.  Job  represents  ourselves  in  this  quick  and  indignant 
introduction.  He  will  get  better  as  he  warms  to  his  subject. 
Indeed,  all  the  speakers  have  done  this,  straight  through  the 
story,  as  we  have  clearly  seen.  They  began  snappishly, 
peevishly,  mockingly;  but  somehow  a  mysterious  influence 
operated  upon  them,  and  every  man  concluded  his  speech  in 
most  noble  terms.  Better  this  than  the  other  way.  Do  not 
some  men  always  begin  well  and  end  ill  ?  Are  not  some  lives 
like  inverted  pyramids  ?  Happy  is  the  man  who,  however 
beefly  he  may  begin  the  tale  of  his  life,  grows  in  his  subject — 
expands,  warms,  radiates — until  all  that  was  little  and  mean  in 
the  beginning  is  forgotten  in  the  splendour  and  magnificence  of 
the  consummation.  Still,  Job  does  begin  sharply.  He  lifts  his 
hand,  and  by  a  circular  movement  strikes  every  man  of  the 
three  in  the  face,  and  leaves  them  smarting  un,der  the  blow  for 
a  little  while. 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  107 

Job  accuses  the  three  men  of  being  guilty  of  narrow  criticism. 
Narrow  criticism  spoils  everything.  It  also  provokes  contempt 
That  which  is  out  of  proportion  always  elicits  a  sneering  criticism  : 
it  is  too  high,  too  low ;  it  is  exaggerated  in  one  dimension,  it  is 
out  of  square,  and  out  of  keeping  with  the  harmony  and  the 
fitness  of  things,  so  that  a  half-blind  man  could  almost  see  how 
the  whole  thing  is  out  of  true  geometry.  Whatever  is  so  is 
pointed  at,  and  is  remarked  upon,  either  with  flippancy  or  with 
contempt.  When  did  the  bowing  wall  ever  attract  to  itself  the 
respect  of  the  passer-by?  When  did  ever  that  which  is  one- 
sided, obviously  out  of  plomb,  draw  to  itself  the  commendation 
of  any  sensible  critic  ?  Job  said :  So  far  as  you  have  gone  you 
are.  right  enough  :  who .  knoweth.....not  such  things  as  these? 
Your  criticism  lacks  breadth;  you  are  like  a  point  rather  than 
an  edge ;  you  see  one  or  two  things  most  clearly,  but  you  do  not 
take  in  the  whole  horizon  :  your  minds  are  intense  rather  than 
comprehensive.  This  is  the  fault  of  the  world  !  It  is  peculiarly 
and  incurably  the  fault  of  some  men.  They  see  single  points 
with  an  intensity  indescribable,  and  you  cannot  get  them  to  see 
any  other  point,  and  complete  the  survey  of  the  whole.  They 
are  men  of  prejudice,  stubborn  men;  they  imagine  that  they  are 
faithful,  when  they  are  only  obstinate ;  they  suppose  themselves 
to  be  real,  when  they  are  only  incapable.  It  is  illustrated  on 
every  hand.  Narrow  criticisms  have  driven  men  away  from 
the  Church  who  ought  to  have  been  its  pillars  and  its  luminaries. 
We  must,  therefore,  take  in  more  field.  There  is  what  may  be 
called  a  sense  of  proportion  in  man.  Not  only  has  man  an  ear  by 
which  to  try  words,  and  a  palate  by  which  to  test  foods,  but  he 
has  in  him  a  sense  of  proportion  :  he  seems  to  know  without  a 
schoolmaster  when  a  thing  is  the  right  length,  the  right  shape; 
whether  there  is  enough,  or  too  much  of  it.  Ask  him  to  define 
this  feeling  in  words,  or  justify  it  by  canons  of  art,  and  he 
cannot  do  so.  But  there  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration 
of  the  Almighty  giveth  him  understanding.  The  untaught  man 
stops  before  a  house  that  is  ridiculously  low,  and  points  it  out. 
Why  should  he  do  so  ?  What  is  it  that  moves  him  but  that 
inscrutable  and  undefinable  sense  of  proportion,  which  would 
seem  to  be  in  every  man  ?  So  with  a  house  that  is  dispropor- 
tionately high.     Though  in  haste,  the  man  draws  up  to  look  at 


io8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job xiUxiv. 

it,  to  point  it  out ;  or  if  he  be  without  companion  he  remembers 
the  disproportionate  thing,  and  relates  at  home  what  he  has 
seen  on  the  road.  Why  may  not  men  build  as  they  please 
without  criticism  ?  Simply  because  there  is  a  common  sentiment, 
a  common  opinion,  an  inborn  sense  of  proportion  and  right ; 
and  men  cannot  be  exaggeratedly  individual  without  provoking 
criticism  for  their  offence  against  the  established  customs  and 
conclusions  of  the  world.  The  three  friends  of  Job,  we  now 
begin  to  see,  had  but  a  very  short  view  of  life,  it  was  a  very 
high  one,  and  it  went  in  the  right  direction;  they  were  all 
religious  men,  but  narrowly  religious.  They  would  have  been 
more  religious  if  they  had  been  more  human.  They  would  have 
better  represented  God  if  they  had  broken  down  in  tears,  hung 
upon  Job's  neck,  and  said — Oh,  brother,  the  hand  is  hard  upon 
thee,  and  to  us  it  is  a  mystery  that  tests  our  faith  in  God.  But 
theyj^ere  too  sternly  and  scjuarely  theological :  theyknew  where 
God  began  and  ended,  what  circuit  he  swept ;  and  they  judged 
.everything" by  a  narrow  and  unworthy  standard.  It  is  not 
enough  to  be  right  in  points ;  it  is  not  enough  to  have  excellent 
traits  of  character :  the  whole  character  must  be  moulded 
symmetrically,  and  the  whole  man  must  be  taken  in  before  any 
one  point  of  him  can  be  understood.  So  it  is  with  the  living 
God  :  we  are  not  to  take  out  individual  instances  and  dwell  upon 
them  in  their  separateness :  we  are  to  take  in  the  whole  horizon, 
and  judge  of  every  star  in  the  firmament  by  every  other  star 
that  shares  the  great  honour  of  lighting  the  universe. 

Then,  again,  Job  points  out  that  there  is  always  another  view 
to  be  taken  than  the  one  which  is  represented : — 

"  I  have  understanding  as  well  as  you ;  I  am  not  inferior  to  you  "  (xii.  3). 

We  always  omit  to  take  in  the  opinion  of  the  other  man.  That 
is  papal  infallibility;  and  it  lives  in  every  country  under  heaven. 
We  forget  that  there  is  another  man  in  the  house  who  has  not 
yet  spoken,  and  until  he  has  spoken  the  whole  truth  has  not  been 
declared.  There  is  a  child  crying,  and  until  we  understand 
through  what  gamut  its  cry  passes  we  cannot  comprehend  the 
whole  situation  of  things.  The  dying  man  is  as  essential  a  witness 
in  this  great  evidence,  concerning  God  and  providence,  as  is  the 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  ^OB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  109 

testimony  of  the  most  robust  and  energetic  witness.  The  truth 
is  not  with  any  three  men.  No  three  points  can  represent  the 
circle.  And  God  always  works  in  circles,  he  knows  nothing  about 
any  other  geometrical  figure.  It  seem  to  occur  here  and  there, 
no  doubt;  but  when  taken  into  relation  with  all  other  things,  the 
universe  is  a  globe,  a  sphere,  an  infinite  dewdrop.  Who,  then, 
stands  up  and  says,  Behold,  this  is  the  whole  truth  of  God,  and 
beside  it  there  is  nothing  to  be  said  ?  A  man  who  should  utter 
such  words  should  be  excommunicated  from  the  altar,  until  he  has 
learned  that  he  knows  nothing,  and  is'  but  part  of  an  immeasurable 
totality.  Job  insists  upon  being  heard ;  he  says,  There  are  not 
three  in  this  company,  but  four ;  and  four  is  an  even  number,  and 
the  even  number  must  be  heard.  There  must  be  no  triangular 
constituency  in  the  great  moral  universe.  Each  man  sees  some- 
thing which  no  other  man  sees ;  and  until  we  have  got  the  other 
man's  testimony  we  are  operating  upon  a  broken  witness.  Every 
man  in  the  church  should  pray.  When  the  last  little  child  has 
uttered  his  sentence,  when  the  poorest,  frailest  woman  has 
breathed  her  wordless  sigh  into  the  great  supplication,  then 
heaven  will  have  before  it  the  whole  prayer  of  humanity.  But 
are  there  not  men  who  are  instructed  in  theology  ?  The  worse 
for  the  world  if  their  instruction  has  led  them  to  narrowness 
and  to  finality!  Theology  is  not  a  profession;  it  is  the  whole 
human  heart,  touched,  kindled  with  a  passion  that  seeks  God. 
We  must  hear  the  patient  as  well  as  the  doctor ;  we  must  hear 
the  sufferer  as  well  as  the  comforter ;  we  must  listen  to  Job  as 
well  as  to  his  three  friends. 

Then  Job  cannot  get  away  from  what  wicked  men  say  :— 


**  I  am  as  one  mocked  of  his  neighbour,  who  calleth  upon  God,  and  he 
answereth  him :  the  just  upright  man  is  laughed  to  scorn  "  (xii.  4). 


Everything  seems  to  favour  this  view.     Said  Job,  Look  at  me; 

\\  my  neighbours  who  were  wont  to  consult  me  now  mock  me; 

\\they  who  knew  that  I  have  called  upon  God  say,  God  has 
answered  him  in  sore  boils,  and  has  thrown  him  to  the  dust  that 
he  may  know  how  great  is  his  hypocrisy :  these  many  years  I 
have  maintained  a  character  as  a  just  upright  man,  now  I  am 
laughed  to  scorn :  what  else  can  I  do  ?  Look  at  me :  what  an 
answer  I  am  to  their  sarcasm !    I  cannot  touch  myself  at  any 


no  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job xii.-xiv. 

point  without  inflicting  wounds  upon  my  flesh  with   my  own 
fingers ;  I  am  a  stranger  to  my  nearest  and  dearest  friends :  how 
can  I  claim  that  God  hears  and  answers  prayer?     When  they 
mock,  I  know  they  can  justify  their  taunt ;  when  they  laugh  me 
to  scorn,  I  know  that  there  is  reason  in  the  malignant  laughter. 
So  Job,  too,  swings  down  to  the  dark  point ;  so  Job  also  becomes     v^ 
as  narrow  as  his  critics.     But  there  is  some  palliation  for  the    \^ 
narrowness  which  Job  takes  to,  for  he  is  under  pain,  the  thong  S^\ 
has  cut  to  the  bone ;  he  has  nobody  to  speak  to  that  can  under-     V  ^ 
stand  a  word  that  he  says  : .  if  he  was  narrow,  it  was  most  excus-        \ 
able  in  him.     Job  says : —  ^ 

"  He  that  is  ready  to  slip  with  his  feet  is  as  a  lamp  despised  in  the  thought 
of  him  that  is  at  ease  "  (xii.  5). 

An  apparently  unintelligible  statement.  The  Revised  Version 
says — "  In  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at  ease  there  is  contempt 
for  misfortune."  Take  the  figure  of  the  lamp.  The  idea  would 
then  be  that  of  a  long  dark  road ;  a  man  has  passed  through  it 
safely,  he  is  in  the  house  of  security,  and  when  he  hears  of  some 
poor  traveller  struggling  along  the  same  road,  and  afraid  his  light 
will  be  blown  out,  he  cares  nothing  for  him ;  he  himself  being  at 
ease  at  home  "  despises "  the  man  who  is  struggling  along  the 
dark  road  with  a  lamp  that  threatens  to  be  blown  out  before  the 
journey  is  completed.  Take  the  other  idea,  which  is  in  substance 
the  same, — namely,  that  ill-regulated  or  unsanctified  prosperity 
leads  to  the  contempt  of  other  men  less  fortunate — other  men  to 
whom  prosperity  is  denied.  A  sad  effect  indeed,  contempt  for 
misfortune,  reviling  men  and  saying.  They  ought  to  have  done 
better,  they  have  themselves  to  blame  for  all  this :  look  at  me ; 
I  have  no  misfortune ;  I  have  lost  nothing,  I  miss  nothing,  what- 
ever I  touch  becomes  gold,  and  wherever  I  look  upon  the  earth 
a  flower  acknowledges  the  blessing  of  my  glance.  Such  is  the 
boast  of  impious  prosperity,  unsanctified  and  irrational  success. 
This  is  the  necessity  of  the  case,  unless  there  be  a  vivid  realisation 
of  the  providence  of  God  in  human  life.  Every  night  when  the 
good  man  adds  up  his  book  he  must  write  at  the  foot  of  the  page, 
"  What  hast  thou  that  thou  hast  not  received  ?  "  Then  the  more 
he  has  the  better.  He  will  never  say  Look  at  me;  he  will  say, 
Look  at  God  :  how  kind  his  bounties  are,  and  large  I     His  mercy 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  xji 

endureth  for  ever  :  the  Lord  my  God  teacheth  me  to  get  wealth ; 
I  must  spend  my  wealth  to  the  honour  and  glory  of  him  who  has 
taught  my  hands  their  skill,  and  gifted  my  mind  with  its  peculiar 
and  gracious  faculty.  When  Job  came  into  misfortune  he  heard 
the  laughter  of  the  mocker.  He  understood  the  rougF merriment 
but  too  weliyiie  said — It  is  always  so  :  "  he  that  is  ready  to  slip 
with  his  feet  is  as  a  lamp  despised  in  the  thought  of  him  that  is 
at  ease " ;  the  men  who  are  now  laughing  at  me  are  men  who 
have  shared  my  bounty  in  brighter  days.  Alas,  poor  human 
nature  I  I  am  now  laughed  to  scorn  by  the  men  who  once  would 
have  been  made  happy  by  the  touch  of  my  ha^d. 

Then  Job  becomes  his  better  self.  He  goes  out,  and  he  takes 
a  broad  and  a  right  view  of  human  nature — a  medicine  always 
to  be  recommended  to  diseased  minds.  "  Canst  thou  minister 
to  a  mind  diseased  ? "  Yes,  by  taking  the  sufferer  up  the 
mountain,  down  the  river,  across  the  sea ;  bringing  him  into 
close  identity  with  the  spirit  of  nature,  the  healing  spirit,  the 
spirit  of  benediction,  the  spirit  of  sleep.  Job  stands  up  like 
a  great  natural  theologian,  and  preaches  thus  : — 

"  But  ask  now  the  beasts,  and  they  shall  teach  thee :  and  the  fowls  of  the 
air,  and  they  shall  tell  thee:  or  speak  to  the  earth,  and  it  shall  teach  thee: 
and  the  fishes  of  the  sea  shall  declare  unto  thee.  Who  knoweth  not  in  all 
these  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  hath  wrought  this  ?  in  whose  hand  is  the 
soul  of  every  living  thing,  and  the  breath  of  all  mankind  "  (xii.  7-10). 

He  who  talks  so  will  surely  live  again  I  He  is  very  low 
down  now,  but  he  will  come  up,  because  the  spirit  of  wisdom 
has  not  deserted  him.  He  will  reason  upwards.  He  will  make 
himself  acquainted  with  all  the  nature  that  is  accessible  to  him. 
So  we  say  to  all  men.  Make  the  most  of  scientific  inquiry  : 
have  telescopes  and  microscopes,  and  go  to  day-schools  and 
night-schools  :  study  every  little  insect  that  lives  that  you  can 
bring  under  your  criticism :  acquaint  yourselves  with  the  habits 
of  fowls  and  fishes,  and  animals  of  every  name,  and  plants 
of  every  genera  :  go  into  all  departments  of  nature  ;  and  depend 
upon  it  you  are  on  the  stairway  which  if  followed  will  bring  you 
up  into  the  higher  air  and  the  broader  light.  Never  believe  there 
are  two  Gods  in  the  universe — the  God  of  nature  and  the  God  of 
the  Bible.    There  is  but  one  God.     There  are  two  aspects  of  his 


112  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xiii-xiv. 

revelation.  Every  pebble  belongs  to  God.  You  cannot  lose  a 
pebble.  The  thief  cannot  run  away  without  running  into  the  very 
arms  of  the  God  he  seeks  to  fly  from.  You  cannot  steal  a  single 
insect  out  of  the  museum  of  nature.  You  cannot  take  up  one  little 
grain  of  sand,  and  escape  with  it.  All  our  felonies  are  little 
vulgar  larcenies ;  they  are  all  on  the  surface ;  we  can  mete  out 
to  them  adequate  punishment :  but  no  man  can  steal  from  God 
in  the  sense  of  losing  out  of  the  creation  anything  which  God 
has  put  into  it.  And  everywhere  God  has  written  his  name 
in  large  letters.  The  microscope  is  one  of  the  doors  into  heaven ; 
the  telescope  is  another — a  thousand  doors  all  in  one,  and  all  falling 
back  on  their  golden  hinges  to  let  the  worshippers  through  in 
millions.  Who  ever  introduced  into  the  Church  the  most  horrible 
heresy  that  nature  is  not  God's,  or  that  contempt  for  nature  is 
the  only  appropriate  attitude  in  relation  to  it,  or  the  only  right 
feeling  regarding  it?  God  is  the  gardener.  He  knows. all  the 
roses.  You  cannot  steal  a  rose-leaf  without  his  eye  being  upon 
you,  and  without  his  voice  saying  to  the  conscience.  That  rose-leaf 
is  mine.  You  cannot  shake  a  dewdrop  off  a  >flower  without 
God  knowing  that  the  position  of  the  dewdrop  has  been  changed. 
There  is  not  a  little  creature  whose  heart  requires  a  microscope 
of  the  greatest  power  to  see  it  that  has  not  been,  in  one  way 
or  another — do  not  bewilder  yourselves  as  to  methods — created 
by  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God.  We  must,  too,  remember 
that  there  are  two  classes  of  workers.  Some  of  our  brethren 
are  studying,  according  to  Job's  direction,  "the  beasts,"  "the 
fowls,"  "  the  earth,"  "  the  fishes  of  the  sea."  They  are  still 
our  brethren ;  they  are  not  to  be  despised.  Others  are  studying 
the  greater  things  of  God, — that  is  to  say,  studying  somewhat  of 
his  thought,  purpose,  love.  They  are  the  higher  students,  but 
they  are  still  members  of  the  same  glorious  academy.  When 
the  theologian  says  that  the  naturalist  is  contemptible,  he  is 
guilty  of  falsehood ;  when  the  naturalist  says  that  the  theologian 
is  fanatical,  he  is  guilty  of  falsehood  :  the  two  should  be  brothers, 
living  together  in  amity  and  charity. 

Job  lays  down  a  great  doctrine  which  seems  to   have   been 
forgotten : — 

"  Doth  not  the  ear  try  words  ?  and  the  mouth  taste  his  meat  ?  "    (adL  ll). 


JobxiUxiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  113 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  inquiry?  Evidently  this — that 
there  is  a  verifying  faculty  in  man  :  the  ear  knows  when  the 
sentence  has  reached  the  point  of  music  ;  the  ear  knows  not 
only  words,  but,  figuratively,  understands  reasoning;  and  the 
ear,  taken  as  the  type  of  the  understanding,  being  the  door 
through  which  information  goes,  says,  Yes,  that  is  right;  No, 
that  is  wrong.  Doth  not  the  mouth  taste  meat,  has  not  man  a 
palate  ?  The  palate  pronounces  judgment  upon  everything  that 
is  eaten,  saying.  That  is  sweet,  that  is  bitter ;  this  is  good, 
wholesome  ;  that  is  poisonous  and  utterly  to  be  rejected.  What 
is  that  wondrous  thing  called  the  palate  ?  It  is  not  merely 
an  animal  appendage,  but  it  is  a  critical  faculty ;  it  is  something 
in  the  mouth  that  says.  This  may  be  taken,  but  not  that.  Now 
Job  argues:  As  ^certainly  as. the  ear  tries  words^  and  the  mouth 
tastes  meat^  there  is  a  spirit  in  man  which  says,  That  is  true, 
and  that  is  false ;  that  is  right,  and  that  is  wrong  :  has  God 
given  man  an  ear  and  a  palate  for  the  trying  of  words  and  the  -^ 
tasting  of  foods,  and  left  him  without  understanding?  The 
appeal  is  to  the  inward  witness,  the  individual  conscience,  the 
inextinguishable  light,  or  a  light  that  can  only  be  extinguished  "* 
by  the  destruction  of  everything  that  makes  a  man.  Here  is 
the  great  power  of  Christ  over  all  his  hearers.  He  knows 
there  is  an  answering  voice.  Once  there  stood  a  scribe,  or 
other  man  of  letters  and  wisdom,  who  said,  when  Christ 
answered  a  question  wisely,  '*  Well,  Master,  thou  hast  said  the 
truth."  A  man  knows  when  he  hears  the  truth.  He  may  not 
know  it  to-day,  and  under  this  light,  and  within  a  certain  number 
of  instances ;  but  there  comes  a  time  when  every  man  is  judge, 
gifted  with  the  spirit  of  penetration ;  and  by  so  much  as  he 
exercises  that  spirit  of  penetration  will  he  become  wise  unto 
salvation,  and  in  proportion  as  he  distrusts  it  will  he  either 
grieve  the  Spirit  or  quench  the  Holy  Ghost. 

So  Job  will  not  be  satisfied  with  Bildad's  tradition  or  with  the 
broad  generalisations  of  Eliphaz ;  he  will  try  the  words,  put 
them  to  the  test  of  spiritual  experience,  and  pronounce  upon 
them  as  he  may  be  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God.  That 
is  all  any  Christian  teacher  should  desire.  He  must  find  his 
authority  in  his  hearers.     They  must  begin  with  him  wherever 

VOL.   XI.  8 


114  ^^^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxii.-xiv. 

they  can.  There  may  be  times  when  the  hearers  will  separate 
themselves  from  the  teachers,  saying,  We  cannot  follow  you 
there;  we  have  not  been  up  so  high,  we  have  not  been  so  far 
afield ;  we  know  nothing  about  what  you  are  now  saying,  but 
you  have  said  a  thousand  things  we  do  know,  a  thousand  things 
we  have  tasted  and  felt  and  handled,  and  we  will  stand  there 
altogether,  hoping  that  by-and-by  we  may  ascend  to  higher 
heights,  and  take  in  the  wider  magnitudes  :  then  there  shall  be 
between  teacher  and  taught  a  spirit  of  masonry,  of  true  love,  of 
mutual  trust ;  the  taught  shall  say,  Teacher  sent  from  God,  pray 
on,  go  higher  and  higher,  but  remember  that  we  cannot  go  so 
quickly,  and  that  at  present  we  are  upon  a  lower  level ;  and  the 
teacher  should  say — O  fellow-students,  let  us  pray  together,  and 
go  a  step  at  a  time,  and  wait  for  the  very  last  scholar,  and  where 
there  vA  most  infirmity  let  there  be  most  love,  where  there  is 
truest  doubt  let  there  be  largest  sympathy,  and  in  all  things  let 
there  be  loving  communion  in  Christ  Jesus.  Men  animated  by 
that  spirit  can  never  get  far  wrong.  They  may  have  a  thousand 
misconceptions,  so  far  as  mere  opinions  and  words  are  concerned, 
but  they  are  right  in  the  substance  of  their  being,  right  in  the 
purpose  of  their  nature,  right  in  their  motive  and  intention,  and 
at  the  last  they  shall  stand  in  the  light,  and  thank  the  God  who 
did  not  desert  them  when  the  midnight  was  very  dark,  and  the 
winter  was  intolerably  cold. 


Chapters  xii.-xiv. 

JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS. 

II. 

IN  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  chapter  Job  shows  that  he  has 
a  fuller  and  grander  conception  of  God  than  any  of  his  three" 
comforters  have.  He  is  not  behind  them  in  the  instinct  or  in  th^ 
eJijoymenTjofTfTvine  worship.  When  he  speaks  of  God  he  lifts 
up  our  thought  to  a  new  and  sublime  level :  "  With  him  is 
wisdom  and  strength,  he  hath  counsel  and  understanding " 
(xii.  13).  Regarded  metaphysically  or  spiritually,  God  is  the 
great  mystery  of  all  things ;  he  covers  all  the  range  appropriate* 
to  counsel,  wisdom,  and  understanding :  he  is  spiritually  incom- 
prehensible.    Then  actively— 

"  Behold,  he  breaketh  down,  and  it  cannot  be  built  again  :  he  shutteth  up 
a  man,  and  there  can  be  no  opening.  Behold,  he  withholdeth  the  waters, 
and  they  dry  up  :  also  he  sendeth  them  out,  and  they  overturn  the  earth  '* 
(xii.  14,  15). 

What  can  man  do  ?  He  cannot  bring  a  single  rain-cloud  into 
the  dry  sky  with  promise  of  refreshment  and  fertility  for  the 
barren  and  languishing,  earth ;  he  cannot  make  the  sun  rise  one 
moment  sooner  than  he  is  appointed  by  law  astronomical  to  rise. 
Poor  man  I  He  can  but  stand  in  presence  of  natural  phenomena 
with  note-book  in  hand,  putting  down  what  he  calls  memoranda, 
looking  these  very  carefully  and  critically  over,  and  turning  them 
into  classical  utterances  which  the  vulgar  cannot  understand. 
But  he  is  kept  outside ;  he  is  not  allowed  to  go  to  the  other  side 
of  the  door  on  which  is  marked  the  word  Private.  And  as  for 
God's  actions  amongst  the  great  and  the  mighty  of  the  earth,  they 
are  as  grasshoppers  before  him  : — 

**  He  leadeth  counsellers  away  spoiled,  and  maketh  the  judges  fools.  He 
looseth  the  bond  of  kings,  and  girdeth  their  loins  with  a  girdle"  (xii  17, 18) 

He  takes  off  their  glittering  diamond  band,  and  replaces  it  with 


ii6  THE  PEOPLE* S  BIBLE,  [Job xii.-xiv. 

a  slave's  girdle.  '*  He  leadeth  princes  away  spoiled,  and  over- 
throweth  the  mighty"  (xii.  19).  Yet  the  mighty  boast  them- 
selves :  they  live  in  palace,  and  in  castle,  and  in  strong  tower  ; 
they  indulge  in  jeering  and  jibing  at  those  who  have  no  such 
security.  What  are  they  in  the  sight  of  God  ?  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons :  God  looks  upon  character — the  very  sub- 
stance of  life,  its  best  and  enduring  quality;  and  where  he  finds 
right  character  he  crowns  it,  he  makes  it  better  still  by  added 
blessing.  But  are  there  not  those  who  set  up  their  own  enigmas 
and  riddles  as  philosophies  and  revelations  ? 

"  He  removeth  away  the  speech  of  the  trusty,  and  taketh  away  the  under- 
standing of  the  aged.  He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes,  and  weakeneth 
the  strength  of  the  mighty"  (xii.  20,  21). 

When  did  God  pour  contempt  upon  the  poor,  those  who  have 
no  helper,  and  those  for  whom  there  is  no  man  to  speak? 
When  was  he  hard  with  the  afflicted  and  the  infirm  ?  So  Job 
magnifies  what  he  himself  has  seen  of  the  providence  and  grace 
of  God,  and  makes  himself  as  it  were  a  solitary  exception  to  the 
great  sovereignty  of  the  heavens  ;  yet  now  and  again  he  says,  in 
effect — almost  in  words — it  shall  not  always  be  so  :  he  who  has 
bowed  me  down  shall  straighten  me  again,  and  I  shall  yet  live  to 
praise  him.  Now  and  again  he  stands  up  almost  a  poet  and  a 
prophet,  for  by  anticipation  he  enjoys  the  deliverance  and  th» 
triumph  which  he  is  sure  must  supervene. 

Having  spoken  to  the  comforters,  therefore,  in  their  own  theo- 
logical language,  and  showed  that  he  was  a  greater  theologian 
than  any  of  them,  he  gives  them  to  understand  that  in  their 
argument  they  have  somehow  missed  something ; — 

"  What  ye  know,  the  same  do  I  know  also  :  I  am  not  inferior  unto  you. 
Surely  I  would  speak  to  the  Almighty,  and  I  desire  to  reason  with  God  " 
(xiii.  2,  3). 

He  turns  away  from  the  three  talkers,  practically  saying.  Let 
me  continue  this  controversy  with  heaven,  and  not  with  earth : 
you  vex  me,  you  fret  me ;  you  do  not  touch  the  reality  of  the 
case ;  yours  are  all  words,  clever  and  beautiful  words,  but  you 
never  come  near  my  wound  :  away  I  Let  me  speak  directly  to 
the  condescending  heavens;  though  judgment  has  fallen  upon 
me,  yet  mercy  will  come  from  the  same  quarter.    Job,  therefore, 


Jobxii.-j.iv.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  117 

feels  that  the  three  friends  have  missed  something.  He  gropes 
after  God.  He  says,  The  answer  must  come  whence  the  mystery 
has  come  :  you  did  not  afflict  me,  and  you  cannot  heal  me :  this' 
is  a  matter  of  original  application,  of  direct  appeal  to  heaven  :  h6 
who  began  must  finish ;  you  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  How 
happy  we  should  often  feel  ourselves  if  we  could  shake  our  souls 
free  from  uninformed  sympathisers,  and  from  people  who  offer 
us  keys  which  were  never  meant  to  open  the  lock  of  God's 
mystery !  This  is  what  Job  does.  He  says  in  effect — I  have 
listened  to  you,  your  words  have  passed  over  me,  the  ear  has 
Heard  them,  and  rejected  them;  now  give  me  opportunity  of 
talking  with  God. 

"  But  ye  are  forgers  of  lies,  ye  are  all  physicians  of  no  value  **  (xiiL  4). 

What  is  it  that  feels  this  to  be  the  case  in  our  human  educa- 
tion ?  We  listen  to  men,  and  say — So  far,  good  :  there  is  sense 
in  what  you  say;  you  are  not  without  mental  penetration; 
unquestionably  your  appeals  are  marked  by  ability  :  but  somehow 
the  soul  knows  that  there  is  something  wanting.  The  soul 
cannot  always  tell  what  it  is,  but  there  is  a  spirit  in  man  which 
says — The  statement  to  which  you  have  just  listened  is  one- 
sided, imperfect,  incomplete ;  it  wants  rounding  into  perfectness. 
Surely  there  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty  giveth  him  understanding.  Wise  men  come  before 
us,  and  say.  Here  is  the  world  :  what  more  do  you  want  ?  A 
beautiful  little  world,  a  mere  speck  of  light  no  doubt,  still,  there 
is  room  enough  in  the  world  to  live  in :  we  may  cultivate  the 
earth  and  rejoice  in  all  its  productions,  flower  and  fruit  alike : 
what  more  do  you  v/ant  ?  We  listen,  and  say,  That  is  a  good 
argument :  certainly  the  world  is  here,  and  a  world  that,  gives 
fruits  and  flowers,  and  has  in  it  birds  of  its  own,  birds  that 
cannot  fly  beyond  its  atmosphere,  birds  made  to  sing  in  this  cage, 
and  to  make  the  children  of  men  glad.  But  we  no  sooner 
consent  to  the  solidity  of  the  argument  than  a  voice  within  us 
says — O  fool,  and  slow  of  heart  I  You  are  bigger  than  any 
world  God  ever  made,  greater  than  the  universe  on  which  he 
seems  to  have  lavished  an  infinity  of  wisdom  and  strength  :  in 
this  poor  little  fluttering  heart  lies  a  divinity  that  mocks  all 
space,  and  defies  all  time,  and  tramples  upon  all  the  challenges 


ll8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job xii.-xiv. 

and  offers  of  the  material  universe.  Then  men  say,  Be  learned, 
be  wise;  science  is  the  providence  of  life,  submit  to  it;  there 
are  certain  known  measurable  laws,  accept  them,  and  live  within 
them  :  roof  yourself  well  in  with  laws  and  proved  generalisations, 
and  be  content.  No  sooner  have  we  admitted  that  the  appeal 
is  good  and  strong,  certainly  up  to  a  given  point  unquestionably 
so,  than  the  same  voice  within  us  says,  Have  they  ever  told  you 
what  Hfe  is  ?  and  you  live  I  Not  what  life  is  beyond  the  stars, 
but  what  your  own  life  is  ?  Have  they  ever  seen  it,  measured 
it,  weighed  it,  revealed  it  to  your  sight  ?  Why,  sir,  you  live ! 
That  is  a  mystery  next  to  the  fact  that  God  lives.  What  is  life  ? 
As  well  ask  you  to  be  content  with  your  garments  and  pay  no 
attention  to  your  physical  condition,  as  ask  you  to  be  content 
with  things  that  are  outside  your  mind  and  neglect  the  mind 
itself.  So  with  many  a  criticism  passed  upon  the  Christian 
religion;  we  feel  that  the  criticism  is  clever,  sharp,  pungent, 
acute;  if  it  were  a  question  of  mere  criticism  we  should  say, 
It  is  admirably  done ;  but  when  the  critic  has  ceased,  this 
mysterious  voice,  this  inner  self,  this  impalpable,  invisible  thing 
called  the  soul,  or  the  spirit,  says.  The  statement  is  incomplete  : 
it  is  wanting  in  vitality ;  the  men  who  have  made  that  statement 
are  conscious  themselves  that  they  have  not  touched  the  limit  of 
things.  So  Job  felt.  He  said,  "What  ye  know,  the  same  do  I 
know  also ;  I  am  not  inferior  unto  you."  Up  to  a  given  point 
we  go  step  for  step,  and  say,  The  reasoning  is  perfectly  good, 
but  after  that  what  remains  ?  What  after  death,  what  after 
visible  facts ;  what  about  will,  motive,  passion,  love,  and  all  the 
mysterious  spiritual  forces  that  throw  man  into  tumult  or  gladden 
him  with  sacred  joy?  About  these  things  you  seem  to  have 
nothing  to  say. 

Job  therefore  directs  them  to  keep  tljeir  tongues  quiet,  saying, 
*'  O  that  ye  would  altogether  hold  your  peace !  And  it  should 
be  your  wisdom "  (xiii.  5).  That  is  not  mere  mockery ;  that 
is  solid  philosophy.  In  presence  of  some  mysteries  we  must 
simply  be  silent.  He  who  can  be  reverently  silent  in  the 
presence  of  such  mysteries  is  a  great  scholar  in  the  school  of 
God ;  he  has  courage  to  say,  I  do  not  know.  He  is  along  the 
line,  he  is  eloquent  at  many  a  point,  but  he  suddenly  comes  to 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  119 

points  in  the  line  which  confuse  him  and  defy  him,  and  there 
he  closes  his  lips :  but  his  silence  is  prayer,  his  speechlessness 
is  religion;  this  is  not  the  dumbness  of  opposition,  it  is  the 
silence  of  adoration. 

Now  Job  asks  a  question  or  two,  the  principle  of  which  applies 
to  all  ages  : — "  Will  ye  speak  wickedly  for  God  ? "  (xiii.  7). 
What  an  extraordinary  combination  of  terms  I  If  a  man  speak 
about  God,  can  he  do  so  "  wickedly "  ?  The  answer  is  a 
melancholy  Yes.  Some  of  the  things  we  shall  have  most  deeply 
to  repent  of  may  be  our  sermons  respecting  God.  We  have 
created  our  sermons,  and  tried  to  force  God  into  them,  and  to 
make  him  a  consenting  partner  in  our  evil  deed.  Who  will 
arise  to  speak  righteously  about  God,  and  call  him  Father  ?  To 
what  evil  treatment  has  he  been  subjected  1  How  cruel  have 
men  been  with  God  I  First  of  all  they  conceive  a  certain  theory 
of  the  Almighty,  and  then  they  bend  everything  into  the  lines 
which  they  have  laid  down.  There  are  those  who  would  over- 
power conscience  by  sovereignty.  This  is  never  to  be  allowed. 
God  never  comes  into  conflict  with  the  human  conscience.  From 
the  beginning  he  has  been  careful  to  keep  himself,  so  to  say,  in 
harmony  with  the  self  which  he  has  given  to  man,  in  the  sense 
of  being  a  spirit  which  could  discern  good  and  evil,  right  and 
wrong,  justice  and  injustice,  partiality  and  impartiality.  There 
are  those  who  have  said  that  God  has  damned  some  portions  of 
the  human  race.  Who  ever  said  so  is  a  liarl  He  "speaks 
wickedly  for  God."  Whoever  says  to  the  human  conscience. 
Sit  down  :  you  have  no  right  to  ask  about  this  appearance  of 
partiality  on  the  part  of  God,  speaks  deceitfully  for  the  most 
high.  '*God  is  love";  "God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  might 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  Who  can  challenge  great 
speeches  like  that  ?  These  are  the  appeals  that  make  the  whole 
world  kin.  There  you  find  no  show  of  favour  or  partiality  or 
selection.  Whenever  God  goes  beyond  what  we  believe  to  be 
the  letter  of  the  law,  it  is  never  to  exclude  but  always  to  include 
men  whom  we  thought  were  for  ever  to  be  kept  outside.  He 
says  to  the  Jew,  What  if  I  go  after  the  Gentile  ?  I  made  the 
Gentile  as  certainly  as  I  made  the  Jew,     And  what  said  the  most 


120  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job xii.-xiv. 

stubborn  of  Jews  ?  At  a  certain  time  of  spiritual  revelation  he 
said,  "  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  : 
but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness, is  accepted  with  him."  There  you  have  a  philosophy  that 
will  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  life;  there  you  have  a  gospel  that 
you  can  stand  up  and  preach  to  the  living  and  the  dead.  Alas  ! 
it  is  possible  to  have  an  immoral  theology ;  in  other  words,  it  is 
possible  to  "  speak  wickedly  for  God."  We  are  to  stand  upon 
great  principles,  eternal  truths,  the  sweet  and  proved  reahties  of 
grace.  There  you  are  strong,  with  all  the  strength  of  personal 
experience ;  there  you  are  gracious,  with  all  the  tenderness  of 
real  human  sympathy.  There  is  a  God  preached  by  some  men 
that  ought  never  to  be  believed  in.  Such  men  have  no  authority 
for  their  preaching  in  Holy  Scripture.  If  they  quote  texts,  they 
misquote  them;  if  they  point  to  chapter  and  verse,  they  never 
point  to  context.  The  providence  of  God  must  always  illus- 
trate the  grace  of  God,  and  God  "is  kind  unto  the  unthankful 
and  to  the  evil "  ;  "  He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on 
the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust " :  "  God 
is  love."  He  must  be  spoken  of  in  loving  language ;  he  must 
be  revealed  in  all  the  attributes  which  indicate  passion,  mercy, 
tenderness,  pity,  clemency,  care  for  the  infirm,  the  feeble,  the 
desolate,  and  the  lost.  In  doing  so,  do  we  forget  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  ?  Certainly  not,  but  it  is  the  glory  of  righteousness 
to  be  compassionate ;  it  is  the  glory  of  justice  to  flower  out  into 
charity.  There  is  no  unrighteousness  in  God.  But  partiaHty 
would  be  unrighteousness.  First  to  give  man  a  conscience,  and 
then  to  insult  and  dishonour  it,  would  be  unrighteous.  To  teach 
that  God  has  chosen  one  man  to  go  to  heaven  and  another  man 
to  go  to  hell,  is  to  perpetrate  a  direr  blasphemy  than  was  done 
by  the  hand  of  Iscariot.  This  great  evangelical  doctrine  must  be 
declared  in  all  its  fulness  and  gravity,  in  all  its  argumentative 
nobleness,  and  in  all  its  sympathetic  tenderness,  if  the  world 
is  to  be  affected  profoundly  and  savingly.  The  world  is  never 
afi'ected  by  an  argument  which  it  cannot  understand  :  men  are 
moved  by  passions,  impulses,  instincts,  intuitions, — by  some- 
thing coming  to  them  which  has  a  correspondence  in  their  own 
nature,  and  to  which  that  which  is  in  them  answers  as  an  echo 
to  a  voice. 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  121 

Now  let  us  take  our  stand  on  these  great  principles,  and  the 
world  will  not  wish  us  to  withdraw  our  ministry.  When  we 
thus  magnify  God  we  unite  the  human  race ;  we  do  not  break  it 
up  and  distribute  it,  classify  it  and  mark  it  off  for  monopolies  and 
primacies  and  selfish  sovereignties :  we  unite  the  human  heart 
in  all  lands  and  climes,  in  all  ages  and  under  all  circumstances. 
Nothing  may  be  so  impious  as  piety.  Nothing  may  be  so  irre- 
ligious as  religion.  "  If  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness, 
how  great  is  that  darkness  I " 

Job  having  thus  rebuked  his  friends  makes  what  he  terms  a 
''  declaration  "  : — 

"Hear  diligently  my  speech,  and  my  declaration  with  your  ears"  (xiii. 
17). 

Jhen  he  begins  to  say  that  all  things  are  done  by  God;  he 
says.  Whatever  is,  God  rules,  and  overrules ;  it  is  therefore  not 
to  be  judged  by  the  moment,  or  by  some  limited  line,  or  newly- 
invented__staadard.  God  must  have  time,  as  well  as  nature. 
You  say  you  must  give  nature  time ;  you  must  remember  that 
the  seasons  are  four  in  number,  and  that  they  come  and  go  in 
regular  march  and  harmony.  What  you  accord  to  nature  you 
ought  not  to  deny  to  God.  It  has  pleased  him  so  to  make  the 
world  that  not  only  is  there  in  it  one  day,  but  there  is  a  To- 
morrow, and  there  is  a  third  day  :  on  the  third  day  he  perfects 
his  Son.  We  must  await  the  issue,  and  then  we  shall  be  called 
upon  to  judge  the  process.  Now  we  see  so  little :  we  ^pow  next 
to  nothing  ;  we  spend  our  lives  in  correcting  our  own  mistakes  : 
by-and-by  the  process  will  be  consummated,  and  then  we  shall 
be  asked  to  pronounce  a  judgment  upon  it ;  and  in  heaven's  clear 
light,  and  in  the  long  day  of  eternity,  we  shall  see  just  what  God 
has  done  in  the  human  race,  and  why  he  has  done  it.  Oh  for 
patience  ! — that  mysterious  power  of  waiting  which  is  a  kind  of 
genius;  the  silence  that  holds  its  tongue  under  the  assurance 
that  at  any  moment  it  may  be  called  upon  to  break  into  song, 
and  testimony,  and  thanksgiving.  Silence  is  part  of  true  religion. 
He  is  not  ignorant  who  says,  I  do  not  know.  He  may  be  truly 
wise ;  he  may  be  but  indicating  that  up  to  a  given  point  he  feels 
sure  and  strong  and  clear,  and  he  is  waiting  at  a  door  fastened 
on  the  other  side  until  those  who  are  within  open  it  and  bid  him 


122  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xii.-xiv. 

advance.  Be  it  ours  to  be  close  to  the  door,  for  it  may  open  at 
any  moment,  and  we  may  be  called  to  advance  into  larger  spaces 
and  fuller  liberties. 

Job  is  not  afraid  to  say  that ''  the  deceiver  and  the  deceived  " 
are  both  in  the  hands  of  God.  Job  is  not  afraid  to  say  that  all 
affliction  is  sent  of  heaven,  and  that  no  affliction  springs  out  of 
the  dust.  Job  is  represented,  in  the  English  version,  as  saying, 
"Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  But  that  is  not 
what  Job  did  say.  He  said  he  will  slay.  It  would  be  beautiful 
to  retain  the  English  just  as  we  find  it,  but  justice  of  a  gramma- 
tical kind  will  not  allow  it.  Job  says :  He  will  slay  me,  but  I 
will  still  call  his  attention  to  great  principles  :  in  the  very  agony 
of  death  I  will  hold  up  before  him  that  which  he  himself  has 
told  me.  So  Job,  by  a  gracious  and  happy  self-contradiction, 
says  he  will  be  slain,  and  yet  he  will  contend ;  he  will  fall,  and 
yet  from  the  dust  he  will  plead.  Surely  in  the  man's  heart 
was  hidden  a  promise  which  he  dare  not  divulge  in  words, 
but  which  was  all  the  time  warning  him,  comforting  him, 
inspiring  him,  and  making  his  weakness  the  very  best  and 
purest  of  his  power. 


Chapters  xii.-xiv. 

JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS. 

III. 

WE  have  often  had  occasion  to  rejoice  when  Bible  speakers 
have  come  down  to  a  line  with  which  we  are  ourselves 
familiar.     Upon  that  line  we  could  judge  them  correctly,  as  to 
their  wisdom  and   understanding   of  human  affairs.     It   is    the 
peculiar  distinction  of  Bible  speakers  and  writers  that  now  and  again 
they  ascend  to  heights  we  cannot  climb :  what  they  are  uttering 
upon  these  sunlit  elevations  we  cannot  always  tell;    the  great 
men  are  out  of  sight,  often  out  of  sound ;  we  hear  but  reports  of 
what  they  are  declaring,  and  they  themselves  are  more  echoes 
than  voices ;  they  cannot  tell  what  they  have  seen,  or  heard,  or 
spoken ;  they  have  been  but  instruments  in  the  hands  of  God. 
But,  ever  and  anon,  they  come  down  to  the  common  earth,  and 
talk  in  our  mother-tongue,  and  look  us  steadfastly  in  the  face : 
then  we   can  form  some  true  judgment  of  the  value  of  their 
thinking,  of  the  scope  of  their  imagination,  and  of  the  practical 
energy  of  their  understanding.     An  instance  of  that  kind  occurs 
in  the  fourteenth    chapter.     Job  begins  to  talk  about    "Man." 
/"HBo  long  as  he  talked  about  himself  there  was  a  secret  behind  his 
(       speech  which  we  could  not  penetrate.     There  is,  indeed,  a  secret 
\     of  that  kind  behind  every  man's  speech.     No  man  says  all  he 
\  knows ;  no  man  can  say  ail  he  means :  behind  the  most  elaborate 
I  declarations  there  are  mysteries  of  motive  and  thought  and  pur- 
/  pose,  which  the  man  himself  can  never   represent  in  adequate 
^    words.     But  now  Job  will  speak  about  man  in  general ;  that  is  to 
J    say,  about  the  human  race ;  and  when  he  begins  so  to  speak,  we 
/    can  subject  his  words  to  practical  tests,  and  assign  them  their 
/      precise  value  in  historical  criticism. 

What  does  Job  say  about  man?     Is  it  true  that  man  is  a 
creature  jwhose  existence  is  pleasurable  by  days  V     Wnat  are 


^ 


124  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xii.-xiv. 

'*  days "  ? — mere  fleeting  shadows  of  time,  hardly  symbols  of 
duration,  going  whilst  they  are  coming,  evaporating  whilst  we  are 
remarking  upon  their  presence  ?  How  long  is  it  between  sunrise 
and  sunset  ?  To  the  busy  man  it  is  nothing.  To  the  idle  man 
it  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  long  time ;  but  to  the  energetic  servant, 
busy  about  his  Lord's  work,  what  is  the  day  ? — A  little  rent  in 
the  sky,  a  little  gleam  of  light  shining  through  a  great  immeasur- 
able darkness.  Is  it  true,  then,  that  man's  existence,  as  we  know 
it,  is  measurable  by  days?  Are  his  days  but  a  handful  at  the  n-.ost  ? 
Are  the  days  of  our  years  statable  in  clear  numbers?  Does 
human  existence  humble  itself  to  be  settled  by  the  law  of  averages  ? 
Has  that  mysterious  quantity,  that  awful  secret,  human  life,  been 
dragged  to  the  table  of  the  arithmetician  and  made  to  accommo- 
date itself  to  some  form  of  statistics,  so  that  whatever  A  or  B  may 
do,  the  common  man,  the  medial  quantity,  will  live  to  forty  years, 
or  fifty,  and  the  whole  stock  of  the  human  population  may  be 
struck  down  at  that  figure  ?  Calculate  upon  that :  offer  them 
prices  at  that :  write  out  their  policies  at  that  figure.  Is  it  so, 
that  man  who  can  dream  poems  and  temples  and  creations  can  be 
scheduled  as  probably  finishing  his  dream  at  midnight  or  at  the 
crowing  of  the  cock  ?  Are  we  so  frail  ?  Is  life  so  attenuated  a 
thing,  that  at  any  moment  it  may  snap,  and  our  best  and  dearest 
may  vanish  for  ever  from  our  eyes  ?  Job  was  either  correct  or 
incorrect  when  he  said  that:  every  man  can  judge  the  patriarch 
at  this  point.  Is  man  like  a  flower  which  cometh  forth,  and  is 
cut  down  ?  Is  he  no  stronger  than  that  ?  Beautiful  indeed  :  a 
child  of  the  sun,  a  spot  of  loveliness  in  a  desert  of  desolation, — 
a  comely  child  :  but  may  he  die  in  the  cradle  :  may  his  cradle 
become  his  coffin  ?  May  he  never  learn  to  walk,  to  talk,  to  love  ? 
It  is  so,  or  it  is  not  so  ?  There  is  no  need  to  expend  many  words 
about  this.  Job  is  now  talking  about  facts,  and  if  the  facts  can 
be  produced  as  against  him  here,  we  may  dismiss  him  when  he 
takes  wing  and  flies  away  to  horizons  that  lie  beyond  our  ken. 

But  Job  may  be  right  here,  and  if  he  here  talk  soberly,  truly, 
with  wise  sadness,  he  may  be  right  when  he  comes  to  discuss  pro- 
blems with  which  we  are  unfamiliar.  Is  man  "  full  of  trouble  "  ? 
Does  any  man  need  to  go  to  the  lexicon  to  knov^  what  "trouble" 
means  ?     Is  that  \\  ord   an  etymological   mystery  ?     Do  people 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  125 

know  trouble  by  going  to  school  ?  or  do  they  know  it  by  feeling 
it  ?  Does  the  heart  keep  school  on  its  own  account  ?  Do  men 
know  grief  at  first  sight,  and  accost  it  as  if  they  were  familiar 
with  it,  and  had  kept  long  companionship  with  it  in  existences 
not  earthly  ?  The  patriarch  says  "  full "  of  trouble.  That  is  a 
broad  statement  to  make,  and  it  is  open  to  the  test  of  practical 
observation  and  experience.  What  does  *'  full  of  trouble  "  literally 
mean  in  the  language  which  the  patriarch  employed  ?  It  means, 
satiated  with  trouble ;  steeped,  soaked  in  trouble ;  so  that  the 
tears  could  be  wrung  out  of  him  as  if  he  had  been  purposely 
filled  with  these  waters  of  sorrow.  Is  that  true  ?  Is  man  full 
of  trouble, — in  other  words,  may  trouble  come  into  his  life  by 
a  thousand  different  gates  ?  Is  it  impossible  to  calculate,  on 
awakening  in  the  morning,  how  trouble  will  come  into  the  heart 
— through  the  gate  of  business,  through  personal  health,  through 
family  circumstances  ?  Will  the  letter-carrier  bring  a  lapful  of 
trouble  to  the  man's  breakfast-table?  Is  man  full  of  trouble, 
sated  with  sorrow,  soaked  and  steeped  m  the  brine  of  grief  ?  We 
can  tell :  here  we  need  no  learned  annotator  with  ponderous 
books  and  far-reaching  traces  of  words :  the  heart  kjioweth  its 
own  bitterness.  Who  has  ever  stumbled  at  the  nrstand  second 
verses  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job,  saying,  These 
verses  are  not  true?  Nay,  who  has  not  gone  to  them  in  the 
dark  and  cloudy  time  and  the  day  of  desperate  sorrow,  and  said. 
These  words  express  the  common  experience  of  the  race  ?  Then 
Job  says,  man  "fleeth  also  as  a  shadow,  and  continueth  not." 
Is  this  true,  or  is  the  word  "  shadow "  a  rhetorical  expression  ? 
Is  not  our  life  more  like  a  stable  rock  ?  Is  not  our  existence  firm 
like  a  mountain  ?  Can  we  not  say  positively  that  we  shall  go 
into  such  and  such  a  city,  and  continue  there  a  year,  and  buy, 
sell,  and  get  gain  ?  Has  the  Lord  not  allowed  us  to  use  the  one 
little  word  "  year  "  as  if  we  had  a  right  to  it  ?  Were  we  speaking 
about  a  long  lifetime  or  an  eternity  then  modesty  might  restrain 
our  speech ;  but  does  the  Lord  say  we  are  not  to  lay  claim  to  one 
year  for  residence  in  a  foreign  city  for  commercial  purposes,  but 
that  even  in  a  promise  for  a  year  we  must  say,  "  if  the  Lord 
will"?  Let  this  question  be  settled  by  facts.  Do  not  be  led 
away  by  words,  however  many  and  vital,  but  say,  Has  Job  thus 
far  laid  his  hand  upon  the  realities  of  human  experience  ?     Is  he 


126  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job xii.-xiv. 

but  indulging  in   flights  of  imagination,    and    painting  pictures 
which  have  no  reference  to  the  realities  of  life? 

Assuming  Job  to  be  right,  the  question  comes,  How  to  account 
for  this  ?  Surely  man,  as  we  know  him,  cannot  be  made  to  be  a 
creature  of  "days,"  the  subject  of  "trouble," — a  "flower"  for 
transitoriness  of  existence,  or  a  "  shadow "  for  evanescence  ? 
"  Man  "  is  the  first  word  in  the  chapter,  and  it  is  a  larger  word 
than  "  days,"  "  trouble,"  "  fear,"  "  shadow  " ;  to  use  the  word  in 
the  old  English  sense,  these  terms  do  not  equivocate  with  the 
word  "  man."  There  is  something  more  than  we  see  :  there  is 
the  argument  of  consciousness, — an  argument  without  words; 
that  great  terrible  argument  of  sentiency,  inward  knowledge, 
instinct,  intuition,  call  it  what  you.  may :  there  is  something  in 
"man"  that  will  say  to  "fear"  and  "shadow,"  You  do  but 
represent  one  little  section  of  my  existence  :  I  am  more  than  you 
are  :  I  am  not  a  daisy  which  an  ox  can  crush  ;  I  am  not  a  shadow 
which  can  be  chased  away  from  the  wall :  in  some  respects  I  am 
weak  enough — a  mere  child  of  days ;  my  breath  is  in  my  nostrils, 
I  know,  but  I  know  also  that  there  is  something  within  all  the 
enfoldings  and  complications  of  this  mysterious  condition  of  life 
which  says  it  will  not  die.  Left  to  construct  an  argument  in 
words,  that  argument  might  be  borne  down  by  a  greater  fury  of 
words ;  but  how  to  deal  with  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us  I 
After  all  our  arguing  is  done,  that  mysterious  spirit  says  it 
lives  still;  that  mysterious  Galileo  says,  when  the  inquisitorial 
argument  and  the  torture  process  are  all  concluded,  I  still  live : 
I  cannot,  will  not  die ;  only  one  power  can  crush  me,  and  that  is 
the  power  that  made  me.  Yes,  there  is  an  argument  of  con- 
sciousness, after  all  controversy  in  words  has  had  its  windy  way. 

Now  Job  comes  to  the  fixed  realities  of  life.  He  says,  "Who 
can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?  Not  one  " — (xiv,  4). 
There  he  would  seem  to  be  philosophical  in  the  modern  sense 
of  the  term:  he  would  appear  to  have  fixed  his  reasoning 
upon  what  we  call  the  law  of  cause  and  effect.  He  speaks 
like  a  wise  man.  The  proposition  which  he  lays  down  here 
is  one  which  is  open  to  immediate  and  exhaustive  scrutiny. 
But  he  proceeds :  "  Seeing  his  days  are  determined,  the  number 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  127 

of  his  months  are  with  thee,  thou  hast  appointed  his  bounds  that 
he  cannot  pass"  (xiv.  5).  Is  all  that  true?  Do  we  live  an 
"  appointed  "  time  on  the  earth  ?  Are  our  days  meted  out  to  us 
one  by  one,  and  is  a  record  kept  by  the  Divine  Economist,  and 
can  we  not  beg  just  one  more  day,  to  finish  the  marble  column, 
or  to  put  one  last  touch  to  the  temple  whose  pinnacles  are  already 
glistering  in  the  sun  ?  Is  all  settled  ?  Have  we  only  liberty  to 
obey?  Let  facts  declare  themselves.  Job's  appeal  to  heaven, 
based  upon  these  supposed  facts,  is  full  of  pathos.  You  find  the 
appeal  in  the  sixth  verse — "Turn  from  him,  that  he  may  rest,  till 
he  shall  accomplish  as  an  hireling  his  day."  In  other  words, 
Do  not  look  at  him,  O  God ;  but  let  him  do  his  little  day's  work, 
and  go  to  his  beast's  refuge  in  the  ground.  Or  in  other  words, 
The  discrepancy  between  thy  look  and  his  fate  would  drive  man 
mad  :  spare  him  thy  glance  :  if  thou  hast  made  him  to  be  but  a 
superior  beast  of  burden,  oh  !  do  not  look  at  him ;  he  would  mis- 
understand thy  look, — it  would  seem  to  touch  somewhat  of 
kinship  in  his  soul,  and  thy  look  might  give  him  a  hope  which 
thou  hast  determined  to  blight ; — Lord  of  mercy,  do  not  look  at 
the  man  thou  hast  doomed  to  die ;  let  him.  run  through  his  little 
tale  of  work,  and  bury  himself  in  the  eternal  night.  Job  already 
begins  to  feel  a  movement  of  the  soul  which  cannot  be  content 
with  words  of  a  negative  kind.  Why  should  man  be  so  affected 
by  the  look  of  God  ?  No  beast  prays  to  be  released  from  the 
overruling  observation  of  God.  What  is  this  masonry  that 
understands  the  signs  of  the  heavens  ?  What  is  it  within  us  that 
answers  to  an  appeal  made  from  the  highest  places  ?  There  we 
come  upon  the  line  of  mystery  :  and  my  affirmment  is  that  no- 
where do  we  find  answers  so  direct,  clear,  simple,  complete,  and 
grand  to  all  the  hunger  of  the  soul  as  we  find  in  the  Book  of  God 
— a  Book  which  covers  the  whole  space,  answers  the  inquiry, 
turns  the  question  into  exultation  and  praise. 

Job  reasons,  and  reasons  wrongly.  The  reasoning  is  good,  but 
the  application  is  inadequate  and  fallacious,  thus  : — 

*'  For  there  is  hope  of  a  tree,  if  it  be  cut  down,  that  it  will  sprout  again, 
and  that  the  tender  branch  thereof  will  not  cease.  Though  the  root  thereof 
wax  old  in  the  earth,  and  the  stock  thereof  die  in  the  ground  ;  yet  through 
the  scent  of  water  it  will  bud,  and  bring  forth  boughs  like  a  plant "  (xiv.  7-9). 

Beautifuil   tact  turned  mto  poetry:    the  tree  blossoms  under 


128  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job xii.-xiv. 

the  touch  of  Job's  reasoning.  But  what  does  he  make  of  it? 
We  shall  see  presently.  Meanwhile,  Job  says  "there  is  hope 
of  a  tree."  If  there  is  hope  of  anything,  there  must  be  hope  of 
man.  If  you  can  find  anywhere  in  nature  a  point  at  which  hope 
begins,  you  have  seized  the  key  of  the  whole  situation.  If  any- 
thing can  die,  and  live  again,  you  have  secured  the  whole 
revelation  of  God's  purpose  concerning  man.  We  only  need  to 
find  it  anywhere.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed  :  after  the  mustard  seed  has  been  given  the  rest 
is  but  a  commonplace :  the  trunk,  the  branches,  the  singing 
birds, — what  are  these  but  mere  sequences  that  cannot  help 
themselves  ?  the  miracle  is  in  the  seed  itself — ^the  first  thought,  the 
first  word.  Given  an  alphabet,  and  you  have  given  a  literature ; 
given  one  thought,  and  you  have  given  companionship  to  God. 
Job  admitted  the  whole  case  the  moment  he  got  so  far  in  his 
reasoning  as  to  say  "  there  is  hope  of  a  tree."  Job  did  not  at 
once  see  what  his  reasoning  led  to.  It  was  enough,  however,  to 
have  a  good  beginning. 

Now  see  how  he  drops  where  he  ought  to  have  risen.  The 
contrast  begins  in  the  tenth  verse — "  But  man  dieth,  and  wasteth 
away :  yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost."  Does  Job  end  there  ? 
Job  cannot  give  up  the  case  yet ;  even  when  he  is  denying  a 
thing  he  asks  questions  which  call  it  back  again  for  consideration  ; 
he  cannot  release  his  hand  upon  the  great  possibility :  he  lets  it 
go  so  far,  even  an  arm's  length,  and  then  he  asks  a  question,  and 
the  subject  turns  back,  and  says,  You  are  not  done  with  me  yet ; 
we  must  have  larger  speech  than  we  have  yet  had :  come,  let  us 
continue  together  in  sweet  and  hopeful  fellowship,  for  out  of  dis- 
cussion, contemplation,  and  prayer  light  may  break,  morning 
may  dawn.  Therefore  Job  having  declared  that  "  man  dieth, 
and  wasteth  away  :  yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost,"  ends  with — 
"  and  where  is  he  ? "  He  does  not  say — "  and  is  nowhere," 
*'  and  is  not,"  "  and  cannot  be  found  any  more."  Sometimes  the 
very  asking  of  a  question  is  like  the  ofiering  of  a  prayer ;  some- 
times a  question  may  be  so  put  as  to  involve  its  own  answer. 
Do  not  scorn  men  who  gather  around  the  Bible  and  ask  questions 
oncerning  it ;  do  not  wonder  that  men  cannot  get  at  the  meaning 
it  the  whole  Bible  all  at  once,  and  become  completed  saints  at 


Jobxu.-xiv.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  129 

one  day's  sitting  over  the  sacred  oracles ;  Jesus  Christ  encouraged 
the  asking  of  great  questions;  he  believed  that  the  very  asking 
of  great  questions  was  itself  a  process  of  education.  So  Job  says, 
"  Where  is  he  ?  "  "  As  the  waters  fail  from  the  sea,  and  the 
flood  decayeth  and  drieth  up :  so  man  lieth  down,  and  riseth 
not"  (xiv.  II,  12):  is  that  a  full-stop?  No;  Job  cannot  come 
to  a  period  yet ;  he  is  at  a  colon,  the  very  next  stop  to  a  full  one, 
but  not  a  full  one — "  So  man  lieth  down,  and  riseth  not :  till  the 
heavens  be  no  more,  they  shall  not  awake,  nor  be  raised  out  of 
their  sleep."  Words  difficult  for  us  to  understand,  but  still, 
read  in  the  spirit  of  Job's  hopefulness  when  he  put  the  question, 
they  may  be  made  to  meet  a  secret  hope  that  there  is  coming 
a  time  in  which  man's  resurrection  shall  contrast  with  nature's 
dissolution.  Who  can  tell  ?  Nay,  the  very  word  "  sleep  "  has 
in  it  somewhat  of  hope — "  They  shall  not  awake,"  are  they  then 
but  slumbering?  It  may  be.  "Raised  out  of  their  sleep," — 
are  they,  then,  but  recruiting  their  energy  in  a  night's  rest  ?  So 
it  may  be.  We  believe  it.  Life  and  immortality  are  brought 
to  light  through  the  gospel ;  and,  bringing  Christ's  preaching  to 
bear  upon  the  Book  of  Job,  we  see  that  many  a  dark  place  is 
lighted  up.  This  is  not  dipost  hoc?  We  are  not  bringing  back 
history  upon  history  as  a  mere  controversial  resort;  this  is 
the  right  and  philosophical  method  of  reading  life — to  bring  the 
third  day  to  bear  upon  the  first  day  to  explain  all  its  mystery 
and  illumine  all  its  darkness.  Jesus  Christ  thus  reasoned,  and 
we  are  prepared  to  follow  him  in  all  his  argument.  Job  should 
have  reasoned  the  other  way :  but  who  is  always  right  ?  Who 
is  always  equal  to  the  occasion  ?  It  is  easier  to  lie  down  than  to 
stand  up ;  it  is  easier  to  go  down  a  hill  than  to  struggle  against 
a  steep.  We  cannot  blame  the  patriarch.  He  might  have  rea- 
soned— "  There  is  hope  of  a  tree,  if  it  be  cut  down,  that  it  will 
sprout  again,  and  that  the  tender  branch  thereof  will  not  cease. 
Though  the  root  thereof  wax  old  in  the  earth,  and  the  stock 
thereof  die  in  the  ground  ;  yet  through  the  scent  of  water  it  will 
bud,  and  bring  forth  boughs  like  a  plant,"  and  if  a  common 
vegetable  can  do  this,  how  much  more  shall  man  respond  to  the 
touch  divine,  and  abolish  death,  and  be  like  the  golden  wheat, 
springing  up  out  of  corruption,  sixtyfold,  an  hundredfold,  in 
answer  to  the  sower's  care  1  But  we  are  not  always  equal  to 
VOL.  XI.  9 


130  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job xii.-xiv. 

ourselves.  In  one  man  the  "  selves  "  are  many.  Sometimes  the 
man  is  almost  an  angel ;  sometimes  he  is  a  mighty  reasoner,  and 
can  hold  his  work  clear  up  to  the  midday  sun,  and  defy  that 
bright  critic  to  show  a  flaw  in  all  the  process,  yet  that  selfsame 
man  is  often  tired,  worn  down,  overborne  by  the  long-lasting 
fatigues  of  life,  so  that  he  can  hardly  utter  his  own  prayers,  or 
crown  them  with  an  energetic  Amen.  Do  not,  therefore,  rush  in 
upon  a  man  at  his  weakest  rrioment,  and  say.  This  is  what  he 
believes  :  see  what  a  palpable  hypocrisy,  what  an  ill-concealed 
weakness  of  the  soul.  That  is  not  the  man.  Meet  him  to- 
morrow, and  the  vitality  will  be  back  in  his  eye,  and  the  thunder 
will  have  returned  to  his  voice.  Address  yourself  to  a  man  at 
his  highest  point,  as  God  does  :  God  answers  our  ideal  prayers, 
and  interprets  our  ideal  selves,  and  thus  sees  in  us  more  than  we 
can  for  the  moment  see  in  our  own  nature.  How  we  sometimes 
miss  the  parable  of  the  growing  world  I  All  nature  teaches 
resurrection  :  the  trees  do  but  sleep ;  the  earth  itself  does  but 
gather  around  her  the  coverlet  of  snow,  and  say,  like  a  tired 
mother.  Let  me  sleep  awhile.  All  nature  is  a  Bible  written 
with  the  finger  of  God  upon  the  one  subject  of  resurrection. 
There  is  a  rising  again;  there  is  a  return  to  the  paths  of  life; 
there  is  a  perpetual  urgency  of  nature  towards  larger  growth. 
Sometimes  the  summer  is  so  rich,  so  warm,  so  fecundant,  that 
it  would  seem  as  if  winter  could  never  come  back,  as  if  the  earth 
had  entered  upon  the  days  and  the  delights  of  Paradise. 

One  thing  is  certain :  we  have  yet  to  die ;  we  have  yet  to  be, 
so  far  as  the  body  is  concerned,  like  water  spilt  upon  the  ground 
which  cannot  be  gathered  up,  we  have  yet  to  yield  up  the  spirit 
into  the  hands  of  him  who  created  it.  A  right  beautiful  thing  to 
do  when  we  get  into  the  right  state  of  mind  !  Then  there  is  no 
dying :  there  is  a  falling  asleep,  there  is  an  ascension,  there  is 
a  "  languishing  into  life,"  there  is  a  process  of  passing  into  the 
bosom  of  God.  O  thou  bright  little  dewdrop,  thou  dost  not 
tremble  with  pain  when  the  sun  comes  to  call  thee  up  to  set  thee 
in  the  rainbow !  O  poor  shrinking  heart  of  man,  trembling  flesh, 
misgiving,  doubtful  spirit,  when  thy  Lord  comes  thou  shalt  not 
know  that  thy  feet  are  in  the  river :  he  will  kiss  thee  into  peace, 
and  Hfe,  and  heaven  I 


Chapters  xii.-xiv. 

JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS. 

IV. 

/"       A     VERY  curious   specimen  of  the  black  and   white  art  of 

I        ./"x  colouring  is  this  whole  speech  of  Job.    Sometimes  it  appears 

\       to  be  all  blackness,  and  then  it  is  suddenly  and  tenderly  relieved 

\      by  whiteness,  like  the  radiance  of  a  large,  soft  planet.     We  must 

\    not,  therefore,  put  our  finger  down  upon  any  one  point  and  say, 

J   This  is  the  speech.     The  speech  has  a  million  points,  and  they 

J    belong  to  one  another,  and  can  only  be  understood  in  their  relation 

K      and  their  unity.     We  have  seen  Job  half  in  the  grave ;  yea,  more 

,'         than  half — nothing  out  of  it  but  his  head  :  but,  blessed  be  God,  so 

/  long  as  the  head  is  out  of  the  tomb  we  hear  eloquent  speech  about 

life,  and  death,  and  trouble,  and  hope.     And  was  not  the  heart  out 

of  the  grave  as  well  as  the  head, — that  is  to  say,  all  the  affectional 

sentiments,  all  the  moral  impulses,  all  that  makes  a  man  more 

than  a  mere  genius  ?     Truly  so. 

Job  now  opens  a  new  source  of  consolation  : — 

"Thou  shalt  call,  and  I  will  answer  thee:  thou  wilt  have  a  desire  to 
the  work  of  thine  hands"  (xiv.  15). 

What  artist  likes  to  throw  away  his  own  painting?  Critics 
do  not  like  it :  they  are  perfectly  ingenious  in  discovering  flaws 
in  it ;  but  the  artist  himself  says  :  I  painted  that  picture  with 
my  heart.  We  have  heard  of  the  unwillingness  of  a  preacher 
to  throw  away  his  own  discourses.  Said  one  to  me — a  gentle 
soul,  now  with  the  gentle  angels,  a  man  whose  mind  was  all 
beauty,  and  whose  heart  was  all  love — "  The  critics  have  been 
hard  upon  my  sermons,  but  I  know  what  fire  and  life  and  force 
I  spent  upon  them."  They  represented  the  man's  best  power; 
he  had  embodied  his  very  soul  in  the  living  sentences  of  these 


132  THE  PEOPLE*  S  BIBLE.  [Job  xiUxiv. 

discourses :  how  could  he  cut  them  up,  and  scatter  the  fragments, 
as  if  they  had  cost  him  nothing  ?  We  have  heard  the  mother 
say,  when  the  sword  was  in  mid-air  to  divide  the  child,  "  O  my 
lord,  give  her  the  living  child."  It  was  a  mother's  cry,  and 
Solomon  detected  the  maternal  tone  in  the  agony.  What  mother 
likes  to  abandon  her  own  child  ?  and  is  not  a  father  represented 
as  being  pitiful  to  his  children  ? — *'  like  as  a  father  pitieth  his 
children."  That  would  seem  to  be  the  argument  of  Job  in  this 
fifteenth  verse — "  Thou  wilt  have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  thine 
hands  : "  thou  wilt  not  let  cold  cruel  death  break  up  thy  child, 
cover  him  up  with  dust,  and  stamp  him  with  the  seal  of  annihila- 
tion and  oblivion.  Thus  God  has  set  many  teachers  within  us ; 
all  our  affections,  emotions,  impulses,  everything  that  connects 
us  one  with  another  in  social  confidence  and  mutual  honour, — 
all  these  forces  and  ministries  are  meant  to  teach  us  that  he 
himself  is  the  same  as  we  are,  multiplied  by  infinity.  Why  not  ? 
God  created  man  in  his  own  image  :  in  the  image  of  God  created 
he  him.  He  is  a  little  God,  but  he  belongs  to  the  divine  family ; 
he  boasts  not  of  royal  blood,  but  of  blood  divine :  when  he 
stumbles,  he  falls  like  a  son  of  God;  when  he  breaks  away 
from  altar  and  sanctuary  and  oath,  he  seems  to  tear  the  heavens, 
so  large  does  he  become  in  God's  estimation,  so  greatly  does 
he  bulk  amid  the  material  things  that  are  round  about  him  and 
above  him :  what  a  gap,  what  a  vacancy,  what  a  loss !  No 
darkness  clouds  the  blue  heaven  when  the  beast  dies,  but  when 
man  dies  who  knows  what  pain  quivers  at  the  heart  of  things  ? 
/V  b*f?"^'^"^  thrfUgbtJlj^*'  for  Jobto  realise  thatman  was  the 
work  of  God's  hands.  What  is'ltthat  distinguishes  one  lile 
from  another, — say,  one  voice  from  another,  one  hand  from 
another  ?  Are  not  all  human  hands  alike  ?  Cannot  all  men 
paint  with  equal  skill  ?  They  have  the  same  canvas,  the  same 
colours,  the  same  brushes :  now  let  them  proceed  one  by  one, 
and  the  signature  of  the  one  in  colour  will  be  equal  to  the 
signature  of  the  other.  But  such  is  not  the  fact:  the  higher 
artist  says  to  the  younger  and  lower.  What  your  picture  wants 
is  this  touch.  It  lives  I  That  one  touch  has  separated  the  former 
picture  from  the  present  by  the  length  of  infinity.  So  all  things 
are  the  work  of  God's  hands — the  beast  and  the  angel ;  but  who 
can  measure  the  distance  between  the  two?    Thus  this  word 


JobxiL-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  133 

"desire" — ^yearning — is  the  right  word, — a  wringing  of  the 
heart,  a  drawing  out  of  the  soul  in  exquisite  solicitude  tenderly 
tender,  as  if  God  would  touch  without  harming,  lift  up  and 
set  down  without  leaving  any  marks  of  violence  upon  his  child. 
All  this  is  helpful,  not  because  it  is  ancient  in  history,  but 
because  it  concurs  with  our  own  desire  and  experience.  The 
love  we  bestow  upon  anything  is  the  value  of  it :  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
We  measure  all  things  by  the  love  we  assign  them.  Applying 
that  same  standard  to  God,  how  much  must  he  love  the  world 
who,  in  any  sense,  died  for  it ! 

Then  Job  alters  his  tone  :— 

"  For  now  thou  numberest  my  steps :  dost  thou  not  watch  over  my  sin  ?  " 
(xiv.  16), 

Let  us  take  it  (though  there  is  no  little  difficulty  about  the 
mere  grammar  of  the  passage)  that  Job  is  arguing  from  pro- 
vidence to  morals.  He  proceeds  in  his  reasoning  from  "  steps  " 
to  "sin."  He  would  seem  to  trace  the  same  criticism — "for  now 
thou  numberest  my  steps  " :  therefore,  as  thou  art  so  particular 
and  critical  about  my  steps,  dost  thou  let  my  sin  go  past 
without  observation  ?  The  passage  has  been  rendered  variously, 
but  this  would  seem  to  be  a  meaning  which  inheres  in  the 
thought,  because  it  is  certainly  true  to  our  present  conception 
of  God's  rule.  Let  us  be  strong  on  the  point  of  providence 
first.  Have  no  fear  of  the  ultimate  condition  of  any  man's 
mind  when  that  mind  is  perfectly  certain  as  to  the  reality  of 
a  superintending  providence.  Deism  may  end  in  Christianity. 
Everything  will  depend  upon  its  spirit :  if  it  is  haughty,  intolerant, 
self-idolatrous,  it  will  end  in  nothing  but  vanity ;  but  if  it  can 
say,  reverently.  Up  to  this  point  I  am  clear ;  here  I  can  stand, 
and  think,  and  pray,  and  hope,  be  sure  that  the  issue  will  be 
right.  Is  there,  then,  a  providence  in  life  ?  Do  not  think  of 
some  other  man's  life  only,  but  think  of  your  own  life  when 
you  are  called  upon  to  reply  to  this  inquiry.  Now  go  back, 
begin  at  the  very  first  page  of  your  own  life :  how  unconnected 
the  sentences,  how  almost  incoherent  the  style ;  what  a  singular 
want  of  relation  as  between  one  part  and  another !     So  it  is. 


134  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job xii.-xiv. 

Unquestionably  it  is  rough  reading  at  the  first.  Now  turn  over 
a  page.  Has  no  light  come?  You  answer,  Yes,  a  little  light 
has  begun  to  dawn.  Go  on  to  the  next  page :  add  one  day  to 
another  :  let  the  events  settle  down  into  proportion ;  and  pre- 
sently you  will  begin  to  see  that  even  your  life  has  been  as  it 
were  the  darling  of  God.  You  have  to  deny  yourself  before 
you  can  deny  divine  providence.  The  matter  is  no  longer 
theoretical,  or  you  could  easily  dismiss  it;  but  when  a  man  is 
bound  first  to  commit  suicide  before  he  can  cease  to  believe, 
then  God  has  wrought  in  him  a  gracious  and  blessed  miracle. 
Job  thus  reasons  :  My  steps  are  watched ;  I  am  an  observed 
man ;  what  I  thought  was  a  belt  of  cloud  is  a  belt  of  omnipotence, 
and  I  cannot  get  through  it ;  what  I  considered  to  be  but  a  thin 
mist  in  the  air  is  the  very  throne  of  God  :  I  can  do  nothing 
without  leave ;  I  live  by  permission.  Up  to  this  point  Job  might 
have  said  :  I  am  perfectly  clear.  But  if  so,  what  more  ?  Does 
God  pay  so  much  attention  to  that  which  is  without,  and  no 
attention  to  that  which  is  within  ?  Is  he  careful  to  measure 
a  man's  steps,  and  oblivious  of  man's  transgression  ?  This  is 
the  great  reasoning,  the  fearless  logic,  that  goes  forward  from 
point  to  point,  and  forces  the  soul  to  face  the  consequences  of 
facts. 

That  Job  is  sure  that  his  sin  is  watched  is  evident  from  the 
next  verse : — 

"My  transgression  is  sealed  up  in  a  bag,  and  thou  sewest  up  mine 
iniquity"  (xiv.  17). 

Job  was  acquainted  with  Oriental  customs ;  he  knew  that  the 
judge  wore  a  scrip  or  a  pouch,  and  that  in  this  scrip  were  put  all 
the  documents  which  related  to  the  particular  case  :  the  judge 
took  them  out  of  the  scrip  one  by  one.  But  there  was  something 
more  than  the  general  scrip  or  receptacle  of  the  documentary 
evidence — "Thou  sewest  up  mine  iniquity  "  :  not  only  had  the 
Oriental  judge  or  accuser  an  open  pouch  in  which  he  kept 
documents  needful  for  the  establishment  of  his  case,  but  he  had 
an  inward  and  lesser  compartment,  carefully  sewn  up,  in  which 
were  the  special  proofs  that  the  general  impeachment  was  sound. 
In  the  scrip  there  were  two  compartments — one  in  which  was 
the  general  accusation  against  the  man,  and  the  other  in  which 


JobxiUxiv.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  135 

there  were  the  special  and  critical  proofs  cited  to  establish  the 
charge.  This  is  what  Job  saw  when  he  looked  upon  God.  Said 
he  :  I  see  the  scrip,  the  full  pouch  ;  I  see  the  documents  that  are 
written  against  me ;  and  behind  them  all  are  proofs  I  cannot 
deny ;  the  case  is  well  ordered  and  set  forth  with  masterly  skill ; 
not  a  point  will  be  overlooked,  and  where   I    am  strongest  in 

^  denial  God  will  be  strongest  in  evidence.     Job's  conception  of  the 

divine  providence  in  its  moral  relations  was  not  that  of  a  general 

^-        oversight,  or  of  a  loose-handed  indictment  as  against  any  man 
or  number  of  men  ;  Job  said  in  effect  |^  Men.  make  mistakes  about 
this  matter ;  they  confuse  their  documents  and  their  references ;   ,..^„. 
sometimes  they  lose  papers  which  are  essential  to  their  case,  andyiX^^ 
sometimes  they  cannot  read  all  their  own  hands  have  written  ; 
and  therefore  even  the  wicked  man  will  escape  a  just  judgment  : 
but  w.heiLGod_midertakes  to  be  judge,  there  is  the  scrip,  there     ^  ^ 
is  the  general  accusation,  there  are  the  particular  proofs,  day  and  ^^2 

date  down  to  hour  and  moment,  and  locality,  down  to  a  footprint, 
and  there  is  no  reply  to  omniscience. 

Now  the  patriarch  turns,  as  has  been  his  recent  wont,  to 
nature — 

"And  surely  the  mountain  falling  cometh  to  nought,  and  the  rock  is 
removed  out  of  his  place.  The  waters  wear  the  stones :  thou  washest  away 
the  things  which  grow  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth ;  and  thou  destroyest  the 
hope  of  man"  (xiv.  18,  19). 

Nature  is  terrible  as  well  as  gracious.  What  is  so  monotonous 
as  sunshine  ?  What  is  so  mocking  as  the  fixed  stars  ?  We 
cannot  change  their  temper ;  we  can  work  no  miracle  upon  their 
image  :  there  they  shine,  from  century  to  century,  from  millennium 
to  millennium.  Praise  the  sun  who  may,  and  that  he  is  worthy  of 
praise  who  will  deny,  but  his  is  a  monotonous  friendship.  If  the 
clouds  did  not  come  to  help  us  we  could  not  bear  the  sun's  fierce 
love.  What  if  we  owe  as  much  to  the  clouds  as  to  the  sun  ? 
What  if  the  attempering  atmosphere  has  made  the  heavens 
possible  as  a  source  of  enjoyment  ?  Is  there  not  a  great  principle 
of  mediation  even  in  nature  ?  Does  the  sun  shine  straight  upon 
the  earth  without  anything  between?  Woe  betide  the  earth, 
then  I  The  poor  little  handful  of  soil  we  call  the  earth  could  not 
live  for  a  moment ;  it  would  stagger  under  the  fierce  blaze :  but 


136  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xii.-xiv. 

there  is  scattered  between  the  sun  and  the  earth  a  great  inter- 
mediary ministry,  a  mollifying  and  attempering  influence.  And 
is  there  not  a  daysman  between  God  and  humanity  ?  Is  there 
not  what  answers  to  an  atmosphere  between  the  Essential  Glory 
and  this  poor  time-space  and  flesh-life,  this  mystery  of  body 
and  soul  chained  together  for  one  tumultuous  hour?  Job  saw 
the  mountain  falling.  Mountains  do  not  fall  in  our  country. 
True :  but  they  do  fall  in  volcanic  regions ;  they  fall  where 
earthquakes  are  almost  familiar  :  there  '^the  rock  is  removed  out 
of  his  place."  We  do  not  learn  everything  in  our  own  little 
land ;  we  must  go  the  world  over  to  learn  something  of  God's 
method.  Here  the  mountains  are  firm ;  yonder  they  are  thrown 
up  as  if  they  were  toys  in  the  mighty  hands  of  some  player,  who 
trifled  with  them  and  made  them  spin  in  the  air.  Here  the 
rocks  are  emblems  of  solidity,  but  where  earthquakes  are  known 
they  are  torn  out  of  their  places  and  hurled  miles  away.  And 
even  where  there  is  no  violent  action  of  nature,  there  is  a 
continual  process  of  decay  or  ruin — "  the  waters  wear  the  stones." 
All  nature  is  wearing.  Nature  is  killing,  as  well  as  making  alive, 
every  moment.  The  little,  gentle,  beautiful,  soft,  plashing  water 
is  wearing  away  the  great  rocks;  the  continual  dropping  of 
water  will  wear  the  stone.  What  we  think  gracious  is  often 
severe,  and  what  we  think  severe  is  often  gracious.  But  Job 
has  fixed  his  mind  upon  this  great  fact — that  mountains  cannot 
be  relied  upon,  rocks  cannot  be  built  upon,  strong  stones  cannot 
be  depended  upon  if  there  is  water  near — flowing,  active  water. 
Water  will  get  the  better  of  any  rock.  That  which  seems  to  be 
nothing  in  comparison  will  wear  the  other  out,  and  send  the 
rock  flowing  down  the  stream.  Job,  therefore,  gets  sight  of  the 
severe  aspect  of  nature,  and  he  reasons  upward  from  mountain, 
and  rock,  and  stone,  and  things  growing  out  of  the  dust  to  man, 
and  says,  ^'  Thou  destroyest  the  hope  of  man " :  here  you  have 
volcanic  action,  earthauakes  tearing  out  rocks,  waters  wearing 
stones,  beautiful  growths  washed  away,  and  a  sudden,  strange, 
awful  blight  falling  in  blackness  upon  the  hope  of  the  souL  "  It 
is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God." 

What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  as  applied  to  man?    The 
meaning  is  perpetual    overthrow — "Thou   prevailest  for  ever 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  137 

against  him."  It  is  man  who  always  goes  down ;  it  is  the  crea- 
ture who  is  bowed  under  the  hand  of  the  Creator.  O  vain  man, 
know  this  I  What  canst  thou  do  against  God  ?  Why  bruise  thy 
poor  fingers  in  thumping  upon  the  eternal  granite  ?  Why  dare 
Omnipotence  to  battle  ?  "  Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him,  and  be 
at  peace " ;  "  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to 
God  " ;  lay  down  the  arms  of  rebellion,  and  cry  for  quarter  from 
the  heavens :  thou  canst  not  prevail.  Let  the  tumbling  mountain 
teach  thee,  and  the  falling  rock  be  an  analogy  for  thy  guidance ; 
yea,  let  the  stones  perishing  under  the  water  teach  thee,  and  see 
as  the  roots  are  washed  out  of  the  earth  by  the  very  rains  that 
might  have  nourished  them  how  terrible  may  be  the  providence 
of  God.  Say — It  is  useless  to  fight  against  heaven;  heaven's 
weapons  are  stronger  than  mine,  so  are  heaven's  hands ;  all  the 
resources  of  infinity  are  with  God,  and  I  am  nothing  but  a  child 
of  dust,  and  my  breath  is  in  my  nostrils :  I  will  look  unto  the 
hills  whence  cometh  my  help,  and  I  will  pray  to  him  whom 
I  have  too  long  defied.  That  would  be  a  wise  man's  speech 
made  tender  by  the  tears  of  penitence.  Man  is  always  loser 
when  he  fights  against  God.  Even  when  he  seems  to  excel 
he  excites  but  curiosity.  If  a  man  live  a  hundred  years,  he  is 
pointed  out  as  a  curiosity  in  nature;  attention  is  drawn  to 
him  as  one  who  may  have  been  forgotten  as  the  angels  were 
calling  up  the  population  of  earth  to  heaven :  he  is  questioned 
by  curiosity ;  he  is  looked  at  by  curiosity ;  he  is  written  about 
as  a  curiosity.  Why,  ought  he  not  to  be  set  up  as  one  who  has 
defied  God,  and  succeeded?  There  is  a  spirit  in  man  which 
says,  Thjj^  i«s  no  tn'?i"^r^  against  eternal  law,  this  is  a  curious 
instance,  a  rather  striking  exception :  look  at  him  very  quickly, 
for  to-morrow  he  may  be  gone  I  There  is  no  successful  warring 
against  heaven.  "  Thou  changest  his  countenance,  and  sendest 
him  away."  There  is  a  displacement  of  the  first  image.  We 
say — How  changed  from  what  he  was  when  I  saw  him  last  I 
Then  there  was  fire  in  his  eye,  there  was  military  dominance  in 
his  voice ;  then  he  had  but  to  speak,  and  it  was  done,  within  the 
circle  in  which  he  was  lord :  and  now  look  how  decrepit  he  is : 
how  he  falters,  how  he  apologises  for  every  request  he  makes, 
how  dependent  he  is  upon  the  meanest  of  those  who  are  round 
about  him  I    If  he  stoop,  he  cannot  raise  himself  up  again;  being 


.138  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxii.-xiv. 

raised,  he  cannot  stoop  without  danger.    Poor  man  !  how  withered 
in  complexion,   how  deathlike  in  aspect,  how  frail  altogether  I 
And  he  once  was  strong  and   bright  and  genial  I     Nor  is  this 
exceptional;   this  is  universal.     Such  is  the  lot  of  every  man. 
About   the   strongest  giant   will  be   said    some    day :    He   will 
never  rise  again;  his  life  is  now  a  question  of  moments;  the 
great  towering  man  is  laid  low,  and  cannot  lift  himself  into  his 
original  attitude.     Not  only  is  there  a  displacement  of  the  first 
image,  but  the  vanity  of  family  promotion  is  dead  within  him. 
He  cares  not  what  becomes  of  any  one.     ''His  sons  come  to 
honour,  and  he  knoweth  it  not."     He  asks  his  own  sons  what 
their  names   are;   he  looks    upon  his  own    children   with    the 
vacancy  of  absent  ignorance;  he  asks  his  own  child  where  he 
lives  now ;  he  asks  the  younger  if  he  is  not  the  elder,  and  he 
mistakes  the  elder  for  the  younger ;  and  when  he  is  told  that  his 
child  is  now  high  in  society,  he  asks  a  question  about  him  upside 
down,  and  inflicts  upon  his  honour  the  stigma  of  an  unconscious 
irony,     "And  they  are  brought  low,  but  he  perceiveth  it  not." 
He  is  not  even  aware  that  their  moral  character  has  gone  down ; 
when  they  use  profane  language,  he  cannot  discern  between  such 
language  and  the  speech  of  prayer,  all  language   has   lost   all 
meaning  for   him.     And  all  dress  and  culture  and  station  and 
name,  whether  high  or  low,  he  cannot  tell.     And  this  is  man ! 
No,  says  nature,  this  is  not  man :  this  is  but  a  phase  of  man ; 
this  is  but  one  chapter  in  the  tragedy  of  man  :  the  issue  is  not 
yet.     Even  while  man's  flesh  has  pain,  ''his  soul  within  him 
shall   mourn."     There   is   hope   in  that   very   word    "mourn." 
Why  mourn?     Because  all  the  instincts  say,  What  is  to  become 
of  us  ?     All  the  passions  of  man's  nature   say,  Are  we  to  die  ? 
The  marvellous  power  within   man  that  prayed  and  sang  and 
lived   cannot   die  without   protesting   against   its   own  murder. 
Read  the  soul  of  man,  if  you  would  believe  in  the  immortality  of 
man.     Even  when  man  longs  lo  sleep  he  longs  to  wake  again ; 
even  when  he  says  he  shall  be  but  as  one  of  the  common  lot  and 
go  down  to  the  ground,  he  says,  Shall  I  not  live  again  ?     The 
very  question  is  an  argument ;  the  very  inquiry  is  part  of  a  great 
process  ot  reasonmg :  to  be  able  to  ask  the  question  is  tu  be  able 
to  answer  it  athrmativeiy. 


U5IVB 


oar 


■Mr 


N 


Chapters  xii.-xiv. 

JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS. 

V. 

OW  that   the   case  in  some  measure   of  completeness  is 
before  us,  we  may  profitably  consider  the  history  on  a 
/^^       larger  scale  than  its  merely  personal  aspect.     We  have  elements 
'  enough,   in   these  fourteen   chapters,   for   the   construction   of  a 

I  world.     We  have  the  good  man;  the  spirit  of  evil;  the  whole 

\  story  of  affliction  and  loss,  pain  and  fear;    and  we  have  three 

\       comforters,    coming   from   various   points,   with    hardly    various 
\     messages  to  be  addressed  to  a  desolate  heart.     Now  if  we  look 
\  upon  the  instance  as  typical  rather  than  personal,  we  shall  really 
J  grasp  the  personal  view  in  its  deepest  meanings.     Let  us,  then, 
y  enlarge    the   scene    in    all    its    incidents   and   proportions ;    then 
^     instead  of  one  man,  Job,  we  shall  have  the  entire  human  race, 
\       instead  of  one  accuser  we   shall  have  the  whole  spirit  of  evil 
which  works  so  darkly  and  ruinously  in  the  affairs  of  men,  and 
instead  of  the  three  comforters  we  shall  have  the  whole  scheme 
of  consolatory  philosophy  and  theology,  as  popularly  understood, 
and  as  applied  without  utility.     So,  then,  we  have  not  the  one- 
Job,  but  the  whole  world-Job :  the  personal  patriarch  is  regarded 
but  as  the  typical  man ;  behind  him  stand  the  human  ranks  of 
every  age  and  land. 

We  have  little  to  do  with  the  merely  historical  letter  of  the 
Book  of  Genesis :  we  want  to  go  further ;  we  want  to  know  what 
man  was  in  the  thought  and  purpose  of  God.  The  moment  we 
come  to  printed  letters,  we  are  lost.  No  man  can  understand 
letters,  except  in  some  half-way,  some  dim,  intermediate  sense, 
which  quite  as  often  confuses  as  explains  realities.  Yet  we 
cannot  do  without  letters  :  they  are  helps — little,  uncertain,  yc 


140  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [JobxiL-xiv. 

not  wholly  inconvenient  auxiliaries.  We  want  to  know  what 
God  meant  before  he  spoke  a  single  word.  The  moment  he  said, 
"  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,"  we  lost  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion, — that  is  to  say,  the  higher,  diviner  solemnity.  If  it  had 
been  possible  for  us  to  have  seen  the  thought  without  hearing, 
when  it  was  a  pure  thought,  without  even  the  embodiment  of 
words, — the  unspoken,  eternal  purpose  of  God, — then  we  should 
understand  what  is  to  be  the  issue  of  this  tragedy  which  we  call 
Life.  It  was  in  eternity  that  God  created  man  :  he  only  showed 
man  in  time,  or  gave  man  a  chance  of  seeing  his  own  little  im- 
perfect nature.  Man  is  a  child  of  eternity.  Unless  we  get  that 
view  of  the  occasion,  we  shall  be  fretted  with  all  kinds  of  details ; 
our  eyes  will  be  pierced  and  divided  as  to  their  vision  by  ten 
thousand  little  things  that  are  without  focus  or  centre :  we  must 
from  eternity  look  upon  the  little  battlefield  of  time,  and  across 
that  battlefield  once  more  into  the  calm  eternity ;  then  we  shall 
see  things  in  their  right  proportions,  distances,  colours,  and  rela- 
tions, and  out  of  the  whole  will  come  a  peace  which  the  world 
never  gave  and  which  the  world  cannot  take  away.  Hear  the  great 
Creator  in  the  sanctuary  of  eternity ;  his  words  are  these — "  My 
word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void."  What  is  his  "word"? 
This :  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness."  Is 
that  word  not  to  return  void  to  the  speaker  ?  That  is  certainly 
the  decree  and  oath  of  the  Bible.  But  how  long  it  takes  to  work 
out  this  sacred  issue !  Certainly  :  because  the  work  is  great. 
Learn  how  great  in  the  idea  of  God  is  humanity  from  the  circum- 
stance that  it  takes  long  ages  to  shape  and  mould  and  mspire  a  man 
with  the  image  and  likeness  and  force  of  God.  The  great  process 
is  going  on ;  God's  word  is  to  be  verified  and  fulfilled ;  at.the 
Jast  there  is  to  stand  up  a  humanity,  faultless,  pure,  majestic, 
worthy,  through  God,  to  share  God's  eternity.  '    '"" 

Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  some  men  are  farther  on  in  this 
divine  line  than  others  are.  We  have  seen  the  purpose  :  it  is  to 
make  a  perfect  man  and  an  upright ;  a  man  that  fears  God  and 
eschews  evil  and  lives  in  God ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  let  us 
repeat,  some  men  are  farther  along  that  ideal  line  than  other  men 
are.  As  a  simple  matter  of  experience,  we  are  ready  to  testify 
that  there   are  Jobs,  honestly  good   men,  honourable   persons, 


Jobxii.-adv.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  141 

upright  souls  :  men  that  say  concerning  every  perplexity  in  life, 
What  is  the  right  thing  to  be  done  ?  what  is  good,  true,  honest, 
lovely,  and  of  good  report  ? — men  who  ask  moral  questions  before 
entering  into  the  engagements,  the  conflicts,  and  the  business  of 
life.  And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  these  Jobs  do  develop  or  reveal  or 
make  manifest  the  spirit  of  evil ;  they  bring  lip  what  devil"  there^ 
Is  m  the  UriiV^fae,  SHU  Hiake  the  universe  see  the  dark  and 
terrible  image.  But  for  these  holy  men  we  should  know  nothing 
about  the  spirit  of  evil.  Wherever  the  sons  of  God  come  together 
we  see  the  devil  most  patently.  We  are  educated  by  contrasts, 
or  we  are  helped  in  our  understanding  of  difficulties  by  things 
which  contrast  one  another  :  we  know  the  day  because  we  know 
the  night,  and  we  know  the  night  because  we  know  the  day. 
We  are  set  between  extremes ;  we  look  upon  the  one  and  upon 
the  other,  and  wonder,  and  calculate,  and  average,  and  then 
make  positive  and  workable  conclusions.  Why  fight  about 
"devil"?  There  is  a  far  greater  word  than  that  about  which 
there  is  no  controversy.  Why  then  fret  the  soul  by  asking 
speculative  questions  about  a  personality  that  cannot  be  defined 
and  apprehended  by  the  mortal  imagination,  when  there  lies 
before  our  sight  the  greater  word  "  evil "  ?  If  there  had  been 
any  reason  to  doubt  the  evil,  we  should  have  made  short  work 
of  all  controversy  respecting  the  devil.  It  is  the  evil  which 
surrounds  us  like  a  black  cordon  that  makes  the  devil  possible. 
In  a  world  in  which  we  ourselves  have  seen  and  experienced  in 
many  ways  impureness,  folly,  crime,  hypocrisy,  selfishness,  all 
manner  of  twisted  and  perverted  motive,  why  should  we 
trouble  ourselves  to  connect  all  these  things  with  a  personality, 
speculative  or  revealed?  There  are  the  dark  birds  of  night — 
the  black,  the  ghastly  facts :  so  long  as  they  press  themselves 
eagerly  upon  our  attention,  and  put  us  to  all  manner  of  expense, 
inconvenience,  and  suffering,  surely  there  is  ground  enough  to  go 
upon,  and  there  is  ground  enough  to  accept  the  existence  of  any 
number  of  evil  spirits — a  number  that  might  darken  the  horizon 
and  put  out  the  very  sun  by  their  blackness.  We  might  discredit 
the  mystery  if  we  could  get  rid  of  the  fact.  So  fan  then,  we 
have  the  purpose  of  God,  the  ideal  man,  the  spirit  of  evil  arising 
fe)  counteract  his  purposes  and  test  his  quality ;  then  we  have  the  *' 
whole  spirit  of  consolatory  philosophy  and  theology  as  represented 


142  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xii.-xiv. 

by  Eliphaz  and  Bildad  and  Zophar.     Let  us  hear  what  that  whole 
system  has  to  give  us  : — 

Three  things,  with  varieties  and  sub-sections ;  but  substantially 
three  things.  First,  Fate.  Philosophy  has  not  scrupled  to  utter 
that  short,  sharp,  cruel  word.  Things  happen  because  they  must 
happen  :  you  are  high  or  low,  bad  or  good,  fortunate  or  unfor- 
tunate, because  there  is  an  operation  called  Fatalism — severe, 
tyrannous,  oppressive,  inexorable.  So  one  comforter  comes  to 
tell  you  that  what  you  are  suffering  cannot  be  helped ;  you  must 
bear  it  stoically :  tears  are  useless,  prayer  is  wasted  breath ;  as 
for  resignation,  you  may  sentimentalise  about  it,  but  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  you  must  submit.  One  com.forter  talks  this  dark  language : 
he  points  to  what  he  calls  facts;  he  says.  Look  at  all  history, 
and  you  will  find  that  men  have  to  sup  sorrow,  or  drink  wine 
out  of  golden  goblets,  according  to  the  operation  of  a  law  which 
has  not  yet  been  apprehended  or  authoritatively  defined :  life  is 
a  complicated  necessity ;  the  grindstone  is  turned  round,  and 
you  must  lay  yourselves  upon  it,  and  suffer  all  its  will — a  blind, 
unintelligent  will ;  a  contradiction  in  terms  if  you  like ;  a  will  that 
never  gives  any  account  of  itself,  but  grinds  on,  and  grinds  small. 
That  comforter  makes  his  speech,  and  the  suffering  world  says — 
Nor  thou  art  a  miserable  comforter:  oh  that  I  could  state  my 
case  as  I  feel  it!  continues  that  suffering  world — then  all  thy 
talk  would  be  so  much  vanity,  or  worthless  wind  :  thou  braggart, 
thou  stoic,  thou  man  of  the  iron  heart,  eat  thine  own  comfort  if 
thou  canst  digest  steel,  and  feed  upon  thy  philosophy  if  thou 
canst  crush  into  food  the  stones  of  the  wilderness :  thy  comfort 
is  a  miserable  condolence. 

Then  some  other  comforter  says:  The  word  "Fate"  is  not 
the  right  word  ;  it  is  cold,  lifeless,  very  bitter ;  the  real  word  is 
Sovereignty — intelligent,  personal  sovereignty.  Certainly  that  is 
a  great  rise  upon  the  former  theory.  If  we  have  come  into  the 
region  of  life,  we  may  come  into  the  region  of  righteousness. 
Explain  to  me,  thou  Bildad,  what  is  the  meaning  of  Sovereignty  : 
I  am  in  sorrow,  my  eyes  run  away  in  rivers  of  tears,  and  I  am 
overwhelmed  with  bitterest  distress, — what  meanest  thou  by 
Sovereignty  ?  I  like  the  word  because  of  its  vitality ;  I  rejected 
the  other  speaker  who  talked  of  Fate  because  I  felt  within  me 


Jobxii.-xiv.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS,  143 


\ 


that  he  was  wrong,  although  I  could  not  answer  him  in  words ; 
u     but  Sovereignty — tell  me  about  that.     And  the  answer   is :   It 


tf  means  that  there  is  a  great  Sovereign  on  the  throne  of  the 
\  universe ;  lofty,  majestic,  throned  above  all  hierarchies,  prince- 
\  doms,  powers ;  an  infinite  Ruler ;  a  Governor  most  exalted, 
giving  to  none  an  account  of  his  way,  always  carrying  out 
his  own  purposes  whatever  man  may  suffer ;  he  moves  with 
his  head  aloft;  he  cares  not  what  life  his  feet  tread  upon,  what 
existences  he  destroys  by  his  onward  march  :  his  name  is  God, 
Sovereign,  Ruler,  Governor,  King,  Tyrant.  And  the  suffering 
world-Job  says,  .No :  there  may  be  a  Sovereign,  but  that  is 
not  his  chuaracter ;,  if_that  were  his  character  he  would  be  no 
sovereign:  the  very  word  sovereign,  when  rightly  interpreted,' 
means  a  relation  that  exists  by  laws  and  operations  of  sympathy,' 
trust,  responsibility,  stewardship,  account,  rewards,  punisli- 
ments  :  be  he  whom  he  may  who  walks  from  star  to  star,  he  is 
no  tyrant:  I  could  stop  him  on  his  course  and  bring  him  to 
tears  by  the  sight  of  a  flower;  I  could  constrain  him  to  marvel 
at  his  own  tenderness  :  I  have  seen  enough  of  life  to  know  that 
it  is  not  a  tyrannised  life,  that  it  does  not  live  under  continual 
terror ;  often  there  is  a  dark  cloud  above  it  and  around  it,  but 
every  now  and  then  it  breaks  into  prayer  and  quivers  into  song ; 
No  !  Miserable  comforter  art  thou,  preacher  of  sovereignty ;  not 
so  miserable  as  the  apostle  of  Fate,  but  if  thou  hast  ventured  to 
call  God  Tyrant,  there  is  something  within  me,  even  the  heart- 
throb, which  tells  me  that  thou  hast  liot  yet  touched  the  reality, 
the  mystery  of  this  case. 

Then  another  man — ^Zophar  he  may  be  called — says,  Not 
"  Fate,"  not  "  Sovereignty  "  as  just  defined  by  Bildad,  but  Penalty 
— that  is  the  meaning  of  thy  suffering,  O  world :  thou  art  a 
criminal  world,  thou  art  a  thief,  a  liar,  oft-convicted ;  thou  hast 
broken  every  commandment  of  God,  thou  hast  sinned  away  the 
morning  and  the  midday,  yea,  and  at  eventide  thou  hast  been  far 
from  true  and  good :  world,  thou  art  suffering  pains  at  thine 
heart,  and  they  are  sharp  pains ;  they  are  God's  testimony  to 
thine  ill-behaviour;  a  well-conducted  world  would  have  swung 
for  ever  and  ever  in  cloudless  sunshine ;  thou  hast  run  away  from 
God,  thou  art  a  prodigal  world,  thou  art  in  a  far  country  in  the 


144  ^^^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job xii.-xiv. 

time  of  famine,  and  God  has  sent  hunger  to  punish  thee  for  thy 
.  wantonness  and  iniquity.  And  the  world-Job  says — No :  miser- 
able comforters  are  ye  all  I  There  seems  to  be  a  little  truth  even 
in  what  the  first  speaker  said,  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  what  the 
second  speaker  revealed  to  me  about  sovereignty,  ajidjlierejs-an 
unquestionable  truth  in  what  Zophar  has  said  aboutpenalty :  I 
know'Tliave  doTTewroug,  und  I  feel  that  CiocThas  smittenme  for 
my  wrong-doing ;  but  I  also  feel  this,  that  not  one  of  you  has 
touched  the  reality  of  the  case :  I  cannot  tell  you  what  the  reality 
is  yet,  but  you  have  left  the  ground  uncovered,  you  are  the 
victims  of  your  own  philosophy,  and  your  own  imperfect  theology ; 
I  rise  and  at  least  convict  you  of  half-truths :  you  have  not  touched 
my  wound  with  a  skilled  hand. 

This  is  the  condition  of  the  Book  of  Job  up  to  this  moment ; 
that  is  to  say,  within  the  four  corners  of  the  first  fourteen  chap- 
ters— Job  the  ideal  man ;  Jnh  Hpvplnp^'i^g  th<^  spirit  of  f^vil  \i^  his 
very  truth  and  goodness ;  men  coming  from  different  points  with 
little  creeds  and  little  dogmas,  and  imperfect  philosophies  and 
theologies,  pelting  him  with  maxims  and  with  truisms  and  com- 
monplaces; and  the  man  says,  "Miserable  comforters  are  ye 
all" :  I  know  what  ye  have  said,  I  have  seen  all  that  long  ago; 
but  you  have  not  touched  the  heart  of  the  case,  its  innermost 
mystery  and  reality ;  your  ladder  does  not  reach  to  heaven ;  you 
are  clever  and  well-skilled  in  words  up  to  a  given  point,  but  you 
double  back  upon  yourselves,  and  do  not  carry  your  reasoning 
forward  to  its  final  issue.  That  is  so.  Now  we  understand  this 
book  up  to  the  fourteenth  chapter.  We  were  not  surprised  to 
find  a  Job  in  the  world,  a  really  honest,  upright,  good  man, 
reputed  for  his  integrity  and  trusted  for  his  wisdom ;  that  did  not 
surprise  us :  we  were  not  surprised  that  such  a  man  should  be 
assaulted,  attacked  by  the  spirit  of  evil,  for  even  we  ourselves,  in 
our  imperfect  quality  of  goodness,  know  that  there  is  a  breath 
from  beneath,  a  blast  from  hell,  that  hinders  the  ascent  of  our 
truest  prayers.  And  we  can  believe  well  in  all  these  comforters 
as  realities ;  they  are  not  dramatic  men,  they  are  seers  and  tradi- 
tionalists and  lovers  of  maxims,  persons  who  assail  the  world's 
sorrow  with  all  kinds  of  commonplaces,  and  incomplete  and  self- 
contradictory  nostrums  and  assertions :  and  we  feel  that  Job  is 


JobxiL-xiv.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS.  145 

right  when  he  says — I  cannot  take  your  comfort ;  the  meat  you 
give  me  I  cannot  eat,  the  water  you  supply  me  with  is  poison : 
leave  me  I  Oh  that  I  could  come  face  to  face  with  God  I  He 
would  tell  me — and  he  will  yet  tell  me — the  meaning  of  it  all. 
We  need  not  pause  here,  because  we  have  the  larger  history 
before  us,  and  we  know  the  secret  of  all.  What  is  it  ?  What 
was  hidden  from  Eliphaz  and  Bildad  and  Zophar  ?  What  was  it 
these  men  did  not  see?  They  did  not  see  the  meaning  of  chas- 
tening, chastisement,  purification  by  sorrow,  trial  by  grief;  they 
did  not  know  that  Love  is  the  highest  sovereignty,  and  that  all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God ;  that  loss  is 
gain,  poverty  is  wealth,  that  affliction  is  the  beginning  of  real 
robustness  of  soul,  when  rightly  apprehended  and  fearlessly  and 
reverently  applied  :  "  Now  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth 
to  be  joyous,  but  grievous  :  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exercised 
thereby " ;  "  Brethren,  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers 
temptations " ;  "  Whom  the  Lord  lovcth  ho  ohaotenothj  antj 
^courgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth."  That  is  the  real 
meaning  of  all  the  sorrow,  allowing  such  portion  of  truth  to  the 
theory  of  Sovereignty  and  Penalty,  which  undoubtedly  inheres  in 
each  and  both  of  them.  But  God  means  to  train  us,  to  apply  a 
principle  and  process  of  cultivation  to  us.  He  will  try  us  as  gold 
is  tried  :  but  he  is  the  Refiner,  he  sits  over  the  furnace ;  ^and  as 
-soon- aa  God  can  discover  his  own  image  in  us  he  will  take  us 
^  away  from  the  fire,  and  make  us  what  he  in  the  far  eternity  meant 
to  make  us  when  he  said,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after 
our  likeness."  How  all  this  process  of  chastening  becomes  neces- 
sary is  obvious  enough,  if  we  go  back  into  our  own  hearts,  and 
run  our  eye  over  the  whole  line  of  our  own  experience.  If  we  have 
true  light  in  us  we  shall  have  no  doubt  as  to  the  necessity  of  this 
chastening  and  its  meaning.  Even  God  to  reach  his  own  ideal 
had  himself  to  sufifer.  Is  God  simply  a  watching  Sovereign, 
saying,  These  men  must  sufier  a  little  more;  the  fire  must  be 
Svu  made  hotter,  the  trial  must  be  made  intenser :  I  will  watch  them 

^       o      in  perfect  equanimity :  my  calm  shall  never  be  disturbed;  the 
.v^Ti      suffering  shall  be  theirs,  not  mine ;  I^iU  simply  operate  upon 
^'s/  them  mechanically  and  distantly  ?    That  is  not  the  Bible  con- 
ception of  God.     This  is  the  Bible  conception,— namely,  that  in 
VOL.  XI.  ZO  "^ 


U6  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job xii.-xiv. 

working  out  the  ideal  manhood,  God  himself  suffers  more  than  it 
is  possible  for  man  to  suffer,  because  of  the  larger  capacity — the 
infinite  capacity  of  woe.  Now  we  seem  to  be  coming  into  better 
ground.  How  much  does  God  suffer  for  his  human  children? 
We  know  that  he  has  wept  over  them,  yearned  after  them,  pro- 
posed to  send  his  Son  to  save  them,  has  in  reality  sent  his  Son  in 
the  fulness  of  time,  born  of  a  woman,  born  under  the  law ;  we 
know  that  the  Bible  declares  that  the  Son  of  God  did  give  himself 
up  for  us  all,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  and  that  Christ,  the  God-man, 
is  the  apostle  of  the  universe;  his  text  is  Sacrifice,  his  offer  is 
Pardon.  How  much  did  God  suffer  ?  The  sublimest  answer  to 
that  inquiry  is — Behold  the  cross  of  Christ.  If  you  would  know 
whether  God's  heart  was  broken  over  our  moral  condition,  look  at 
the  cross  of  Christ ;  if  you  would  understand  that  God  is  bent  on 
some  gracious  and  glorious  purpose  of  man-making,  behold  the 
cross  of  Christ.  It  will  not  explain  itself  in  words,  but  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  wait  there,  to  watch  there,  until  we  involuntarily 
exclaim,  This  is  no  man;  this  is  no  malefactor:  who  is  he? 
"Watch  on,  wait  on;  read,  yourself  in  the  light  of  his  agony,  and  at 
last  you  will  say,  "Truly  this  man  was  the  Son  of  God."  What 
is  he  doing  there  ?  Redeeming  the  world.  What  is  his  purpose  ? 
To  make  man  in  God's  image  and  God's  likeness.  Then  is  the 
process  long-continued,  stretching  over  the  ages  ?  Yes  :  he  who 
is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  takes  great  breadths  of  time  for 
the  revelation  of  his  fatherhood  and  the  realisation  of  ail  the 
purposes  of  his  love. 


Chapter  xv. 
THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OP  ELTPHAZ. 

LET  us  recall  our  position.  Job  had  repelled  the  common 
theories  of  life  and  government  which  his  three  friends  had 
elaborately  argued.  He  said  in  effect  :  No,  you  have  not  touched 
the  reality  of  the  case  ;  I  have  heard  all  your  words,  well  selected 
as  words,  uttered  clearly  and  sharply,  now  and  again  perhaps  a 
little  cruel,  but  you  know  nothing  of  my  case  :  I  do  not  know 
much  about  it  myself;  not  one  of  us  has  yet  come  upon  the 
mystery;  all  the  commonplaces  you  have  spoken,  all  the  maxims 
you  have  set  in  order  before  me,  I  have  known  as  long  as  I  can 
remember  anything,  and  in  their  own  places,  and  at  proper  times, 
no  fault  is  to  be  found  with  them, — but  oh  that  God  himself 
would  speak  to  me  1  I  could  understand  him  better  than  I  under- 
stand you;  you  are  trying  to  reach  me,  and  cannot,  and  I  am 
plagued  and  fretted  by  your  inadequate  effort;  you  are  straining 
yourselves,  but  really  doing  nothing;  you  have  told  me  of  fate, 
and  my  conscience  rejects  it;  you  have  preached  the  doctrine  of 
sovereignty,  a  very  noble  doctrine,  capable  of  majestic  expression, 
but  that  is  not  it;  you  have  not  spared  me  in  remarkmg  upon 
the  sure  and  certain  law  by  which  punishment  follo^\s  sin,  but 
I  have  done  no  sin ;  you  are  addressmg  the  wrong  man ;  I  have 
served  God,  loved  God,  and  lived  for  God  and  defied  the  devil  : 
I  decline  your  theories ;  you  have  not  touched  my  wounded  heart. 
Job,  as  we  have  seen,  felt  there  was  something  more.  Mark  that 
word  ''felt'^  Who  has  dealt  with  it?  How  vigorous  we  have 
been  about  the  word  "  know " !  How  we  have  turned  it,  and 
coloured  it,  and  twisted,  it,  and  lengthened  it :  but  where  is  the 
tongue  eloquent  enough  and  gentle  enough  to  touch  the  word 
*'felt" — feeling?  We  know  many  things  because  we  "feel" 
them.  And  we  know  many  lies  in  the  same  way.  It  would  not 
be  courteous  always  to  tell  a  man  bluntly  that  we  feel  how  much 


148  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxv. 

he  has  missed  the  statement  of  truth  in  what  he  has  said,  but  we 
feel  that  the  man  is  false.     A  wonderful  faculty,  if  we  may  so  call 
it,  is  that  of  feeling!     Christ  was  all  feeling;  he  said,   "Who 
touched  me  ? "     "  Master,  the  multitude  throng  thee  and  press 
thee,  and  sayest  thou.  Who  touched  me  ?  " — the  question  is  pre- 
posterous ;  people  cannot  help  touching  thee.     They  knew  not 
there  was  touching  and  touching — the  masonic  touch,  the  look 
full  of  meaning,  the  attitude  that  was  a  prayer.     When  Jesus 
went  into  the  synagogue  he  knew  at  once  there  was  a  man  there 
with  a  withered  hand.     How  did  he  know  ?     He  "  felt."     He 
knew  all   harmonies,  and    proportions,   and   balances,  and   con- 
sistencies :  he  knew  when  this  little  earth  staggered  in  its  course ; 
every  motion  seemed  to  send  a  vibration  to  his  very  heart.     We 
know  something  of  the  mystery  of  this  power.     Job  knew  it  well 
after  he  had  listened  to  the  vain  eloquence  of  his  comforters.     He 
felt  there  was  something  more,   and  yet  could  not  put  it  into 
words.     "  Words  " — what  can  they  express  ?     They  may  express 
a  little  when  the  man  himself  is  present  to  give  them  vitality, 
complexion,  accent,  by  his  own  personality;  but  when  he  has 
gone,  and  men  are  left  to  pronounce  the  words  according  to  their 
own  conception  of  their  meaning,  how  often  the  meaning  is  gone, 
and  we  know  not  where  they  have  laid  it !     Job  was  thus  in  a 
crisis.     He  represented  a  great  intellectual  and  moral  agony.     He 
was  between  two  lands:  he  had  left  the  old  land,  and  had  not 
yet  arrived  at  the  new  one ;  his  mind  was  in  a  transition  state ; 
he  said.  Almost  to-day  the  light  may  shine,  and  I  may  be  able  to 
tell  you  all  about  it ;  at  any  moment  now  the  cloud  may  break, 
and  the  angel  may  descend.     Yet  that  happy  revelation  had  not 
come.     When  a  man  is  waiting  for  the  revelation,  assured  that 
it  will  come;  when  all  circumstances  and  appearances  are  dead 
against  him;   when  his  own   wife  does  not  know  him;   when 
his  children  are   dead;   when   his  familiar  acquaintances  have 
abandoned  him ;  and  he  still  feels  that  the  angel  is  nearer  than 
ever  but  has  not  yet  manifested  himself, — that  is  the  agonistic 
point  in  life.     We  cannot  tell  all  we  know.     Eliphaz  said,  "  Is 
there  any  secret  thing  with  thee  ?  "      Some  secret  with   thee  ? 
There  is  with  every  man.     How  foolish  are  they  who  say,  Tell  all 
you  know  I     Who  can  do  that,  if  the  word  "know"  is  rightly 
interpreted  7    Who  can  empty  an  intellect  ?  who  can  turn  a  heart 


Job  XV.]     THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  ELIFHAZ,  149 

upside  down,  and  pour  its  contents  before  the  gaze  of  the  public  ? 
Blessed  are  those  teachers  who  always  know  more  than  they  say : 
what  they  do  not  say  has  an  effect  upon  what  they  do  say — 
sends  out  upon  it  a  singular  ghostly  colouring  and  hint  of  things 
unspeakable  and  infinite.  Eliphaz  could  tell  all  he  knew.  Any 
man  can  repeat  the  alphabet,  and  make  an  end  of  it :  but  oh  I 
when  it  combines  itself,  when  it  passes  into  marvellous  permu- 
tations, and  into  poetry,  philosophy,  history,  science,  and  then 
says:  I  want  to  say  ten  thousand  other  things,  but  ye  cannot 
bear  them  now, — then  it  is  we  find  and  feel  the  difference  between 
the  literary  man  and  the  seer,  between  talent  and  genius, 
between  great  knowledge  and  inexpressible  emotion. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  see  how  Eliphaz  approaches  Job  now 
that  he  has  delivered  himself  in  the  manner  which  we  have 
already  analyzed  and  considered.  First  of  all,  Eliphaz  says : 
Here  is  a  great  waste  of  mental  energy,  a  great  deal  of  unprofit- 
able talk ;  here  are  speeches  wherewith  he  can  do  no  good.  It 
is  difficult  to  preach  to  such  men, — and  it  is  still  more  difficult  to 
hear  them  preach  I  They  have  such  a  conception  of  profitable- 
ness and  edification ;  they  are  so  final,  so  geometric;  they  begin, 
and  they  end ;  they  have  no  apocalypse ;  they  have  a  ceiling, 
not  a  sky, — a  ringed  fence,  not  a  horizon :  so  when  they  hear 
Job  preach  they  say.  This  is  a  great  waste  of  intellectual  power  ; 
all  this  comes  to  nothingness  and  unprofitableness;  these  are 
words  only,  wherewith  no  good  can  be  done  :  here  is  a  man  who 
wants  to  force  the  mystery  of  heaven :  here  is  a  poor  creature 
of  days  battering  with  his  fevered  hand  upon  the  door  of  the 
everlasting, — as  if  any  beating  of  his  could  ever  elicit  a  reply : 
this  is  unprofitable,  this  is  worthless ;  Job,  this  is  vanity.  Eliphaz 
spoke  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  He  was  an  Arab,  by  relation  if 
not  by  direct  descent,  and  he  spoke  all  he  knew  by  the  book ; 
but  he  had  no  book-producing  power  in  his  own  mind  and  heart : 
he  was  a  great  reader ;  he  was  full  of  information,  such  as  his  day 
supplied,  but  he  had  not  that  mysterious  touch,  which  every  soul 
that  is  not  dead  can  feel,  but  which  no  mind  can  fully  explain. 

Then  Eliphaz  accused  Job  of  self-contradiction.  That  is  the 
great  weapon  of  the  enemy.     Hear  him  : — 


150  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxv. 


*'  For  thy  mouth  uttereth  thine  iniquity  .  ,  .  thine  own  mouth  condemneth 
thee,  and  not  I :  yea,  thine  own  lips  testify  against  thee  "  (vv.  5,  6). 

Some  men  are  great  in  parallel  columns  :  they  put  down  upon 
one  side  what  was  said  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  on  the 
other  side  what  was  said  only  yester-morning,  and  they  say, 
Look  on  this  picture  and  on  that :  here  is  a  man  who  has  blown 
hot  a'nd  cold,  sent  forth  sweet  water  and  bitter ;  here  is  a  man 
between  whose  utterances  there  is  really  no  organic  or  vital 
consistency.  They  did  not  understand  Job.  His  consistency 
was  in  his  integrity,  in  his  purpose,  in  his  motive,  in  his 
character.  Herein  we  do  not  altogether  hold  with  those  who 
say  to  preachers.  Always  be  sure  to  agree  with  yourselves, — so 
that  the  sermon  preached  twenty  years  ago  shall  exactly  match 
in  length  and  in  colour  the  sermon  you  preach  to-day.  No : 
a  man  must  take  the  day  as  he  finds  it;  be  the  self  of  the  passing 
day  as  to  utterance,  attitude,  expression :  but  he  must  be 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever  the  same  in  holy  desire,  in  upward 
looking,  in  waiting  upon  God.  That  is  consistency  enough  for 
any  mortal  man.  Job  acknowledged  that  he  was  talking  roughly 
and  with  some  measure  of  incoherence,  because  he  was  talking 
in  the  dark,  he  was  <groping  at  midnight,  and  he  was  almost  trying 
to  speak  himself  into  the  right  kind  of  music, — as  a  man  who 
says,  By-and-by  I  shall  warm  to  my  subject ;  by  talkmg  about  it 
I  shall  presently  talk  the  thing  itself,  by  hovering  above  it  I  shall 
get  a  better  aspect  of  it,  and  then  at  the  end  I  shall  proclaim 
the  solid  and  tranquil  truth. 

But  Eliphaz  proceeded  along  a  most  natural  line  to  accuse 
Job  of  downright  presumption  : — 

"  Art  thou  the  first  man  that  was  born  ?  or  wast  thou  made  before  the 
hills?  Hast  thou  heard  the  secret  of  God  ?  .  .  .  What  knowest  thou,  that 
we  know  not  ?     What  understandest  thou,  which  is  not  in  us  ?  "  (vv.  7"9)« 

A  most  difficult  position  to  occupy  in  life, — namely,  to  know 
something  which  the  next  man  does  not  know,  and  which  he 
could  not  understand  if  he  did  hear  all  about  it;  to  attempt  his 
enlightenment  would  only  be  a  contribution  which  would  end 
in  his  regarding  the  speaker  as  even  wilder  and  more  pre- 
sumptuous than  he  had  originally  supposed  him  to  be.  Hast 
thou  been  in  the  cabinet  of  God  ?    Why  this  self-exaggeration  ? 


Job  XV.]     THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ.  151 

You  are  really  setting  yourself  up  above  the  whole  age  and 
manner  of  things,  and  this  is  a  conspicuousness  which  is  irre- 
ligious ;  fall  down  into  the  common  level,  and  speak  like  other 
men.  There  is  a  Hindoo  proverb  which  is  barbed  with  the 
same  sarcasm.  We  are  told  that  the  Hindoos  say  about  a  man 
who  is  well-informed,  progressive,  almost  audacious  in  thinking, 
**  Yes,  this  is  the  first  man,  and  of  course  he  knows  everything  ! " 
A  marvellous  thing,  however,  that  even  sarcasm  has  not  been 
able  to  put  down  truth ;  still  the  truth  comes  on,  waving  its 
white  banner,  speaking  its  gracious  word,  and  promising  its 
everlasting  kingdoms :  it  is  hunted,  sneered  at,  contemned,  spat 
upon,  crucified ;  but  say  of  resurrection  what  you  may,  we  see 
it  broadly  and  amply  enough  in  all  truth-forms,  in  all  the  aspects 
and  energies  of  love — "  God  is  love "  :  if  sarcasm  could  have 
killed  anything  it  would  have  killed  God ;  who  so  laughed  at, 
misunderstood,  defied,  blasphemed  ?     But  "  God  is  love." 

How  difficult  it  was  for  Job  to  establish  a  new  point  of 
progress !  If  he  had  turned  the  three  men  into  four  and  said, 
We  must  all  walk  step  for  step,  we  all  know  just  the  same,  we 
rfiust  all  speak  precisely  the  same  ;  then  he  would  have  been 
more  comfortable :  but  he  separated  himself;  he  said — I  do  not 
know  you,  and  you  do  not  know  me;  for  long  years  we  have 
understood  one  another,  but  there  is  a  point  of  time  at  which, 
you  and  I  are  no  longer  in  fraternity  as  to  moral  conception,  and 
as  to  our  outlook  upon  the  whole  sphere  and  purpose  of  things. 
That  is  a  funeral  day  ;  that  is  the  churchyard  in  which  we  bury 
old  companionships,  theologies,  conceptions,  usages ;  there  we 
lay  our  dead  selves,  and  pray  that  there  may  be  no  resurrection. 
Still  how  can  a  man  say  good-bye  to  Eliphaz,  and  Bildad,  and 
Zophar — old  friends — without  feeling  a  pang  at  his  heart  ?  Some 
there  are  wh^  could  not  leave  the  old  chapel,  the  old  church, 
for  the  new  academy,  and  the  broader  Lyceum,  without  feeling 
that  they  were  giving  up  something  which  after  all  had  a  weird 
attraction  for  them.  It  cannot  be  easy  to  some  natures  to  close 
the  old  Bible  for  the  last  time  and  lay  it  down  for  ever.  It 
cannot  be  easy  to  give  up  all  the  old  hymn-singing  and  all  the 
old  associations,  and  to  write  upon  that  which  once  was  the  very 
summer  and  heaven  of  life,  "  Farewell."     Yet  even  this  we  have 


iSa  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxv. 

sometimes  to  do;  here  are  martyrdoms  which  history  does  not 
record,  surrenders  and  sacrifices  that  never  can  be  expressed 
in  words ;  but  the  man  who  makes  them,  with  the  full  consent 
of  judgment  and  heart,  is  known  to  have  made  them,  by  the 
radiance  of  his  countenance,  by  the  largeness  of  his  charity,  by 
the  peacefulness  of  his  whole  soul. 

Eliphaz  held  a  doctrine  which  is  sometimes  misunderstood  : — 

"What  is  man,  that  he  should  be  clean?  and  he  which  is  bom  of  a 
woman,  that  he  should  be  righteous?"  (v.  14). 

As  we  have  said,  Eliphaz,  as  a  Temanite,  belonged  to  the 
Arabic  race.  The  Arabs  were  always  proud  of  purity  of  descent, 
even  as  to  animals ;  they  would  have  no  intermixture ;  they  would 
stand  by  the  original  line,  and,  be  it  horse  or  man,  he  must  come 
down  by  the  right  genealogy.  Eliphaz  had  got  the  idea  that  the 
race  had  somehow  been  guilty  of  intermixture,  or  apostacy,  or 
uncleanness :  he  did  not  necessarily  use  the  word  in  a  theological 
sense,  but  in  a  genealogical  sense,  and  therefore  he  said.  How 
can  this  line  that  has  been  thrown  out  of  course,  mixed,  twisted, 
and  debased  in  every  way,  rectify  itself? 

"  Behold,  he  putteth  no  trust  in  his  saints ;  yea,  the  heavens  are  not  clean 
in  his  sight."  (v.  15). 

We  do  God  injustice  oftentimes  by  assigning  to  him  an  un- 
'  imaginable  holiness.  There  is  a  kind  of  adoration  which  if  not 
carefully  guarded  separates  God  from  man  too  widely.  That 
God  is  ineffably  holy  no  soul  will  deny,  but  there  is  a  way  of 
dwelling  upon  the  holiness  of  God  which  may  even  discourage 
human  penitence.  We  cannot  reach  God  through  the  line  of 
holiness.  Is  there  no  other  word — no  softer,  shorter,  tenderer 
word  ?  Yea,  truly :  "  God  is  love."  He  will  not  cast  out  any 
that  come  to  him  upon  their  knees,  their  eyes  blinded  with 
tears,  and  their  throats  choked  with  sobs  of  emotion :  then  he 
opens  heaven's  door,  and  would  send  all  the  angels  to  bid  the 
home-comer  welcome  to  his  father's  house.  We  must  not,  there- 
fore, work  altogether  along  the  higher  intellectual  line  of  pure 
reverence,  and  absolute  adoration,  and  that  awe  which  becomes 
oppressive,  which  hides  from  us  the  atmosphere  in  which  it  has 
pleased  God  himself  to  dwell — an  attempered  atmosphere  suited 
to  human  need  and  human  weakness.     Let  God   come   as   he 


Job XV.]    THE  Second  speech  of  eliphaz.        153 

himself  pleases.  We  must  not  so  drive  the  mind  as  to  leave 
the  heart  in  hopeless  despair.  Say,  where  you  can, — "God  is 
love  " ;  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest "  ;  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come 
ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money,  come  " ;  and  then 
there  will  gradually  dawn  upon  the  penitent  heart  and  the  sub- 
dued mind  the  idea  of  God's  holiness ;  then  questions  will  arise 
as  to  how  that  holiness  is  to  be  conceived,  and  in  that  hour  of 
anxiety  the  sweet  reply  will  be  given — "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart :  for  they  shall  see  God." 

Eliphaz  said  some  beautiful  things.  He  referred  to  the  man 
who  "  dwelleth  in  desolate  cities,  and  in  houses  which  no  man 
inhabiteth,  which  are  ready  to  become  heaps"  (v.  28).  At  this 
point  he  was  dwelling  upon  the  destiny  of  the  wicked ;  he  was 
delivering  a  general  lecture  upon  that  destiny  in  the  hope  that 
Job  would  apply  the  whole  of  it  to  himself.  The  Arabs  and 
other  Oriental  tribes  had  a  great  horror  of  cities  which  they  sup- 
posed to  have  been  cursed  by  God.  Call  it  superstition — for  so 
it  was — but  still  it  had  a  most  energetic  effect  upon  their  thought 
and  action.  When  the  caravans  were  driving  through  such 
cities  the  men  never  looked  round,  never  said  a  word  to  one 
another,  but  went  on  in  silence  and  in  terror  :  for  the  ban  of  God 
lay  right  across  the  city.  What  of  those,  then,  who  ^*  dwelt "  in 
desolate  cities,  as  Job  was  about  to  do  ?  Job  actually  built  him- 
self a  house  there,  or  bought  one,  and  decorated  and  enjoyed 
it  1  "  Why,"  said  Eliphaz,  "  the  Arabs  will  cry  out  against 
thee ;  they  go  through  the  desolate  place  silently,  fearsomely, — 
what  will  they  say  if  they  hear  of  the  patriarch  building  a  house 
that  he  may  there  take  up  his  permanent  abode  ?  *' 

Eliphaz  said — "  Let  not  him  that  is  deceived  trust  in  vanity : 
for  vanity  shall  be  his  recompense"  (v.  31).  A  Hebrew  pun,  a 
play  upon  words,  not  evident  upon  our  English  page:  If  you 
trust  in  vanity,  you  shall  have  vanity  for  your  wages ;  if  you 
trust  in  that  which  is  wrong,  you  shall  have  calamity  in  the  end. 
Vanity  brings  forth  vanity,  was  the  argument  of  Eliphaz.  Then 
said  he,  "It  shall  be  accomplished  before  his  time":  the  man 
who  works  vainly  shall  have  vanity  for  his  recompense;  and, 


154  ^HE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxv. 


according  to  the  literal  meaning  of  these  words,  the  wages  will 
be  paid  before  the  work  is  quite  done;  this  is  a  master  who  does 
not  wait  until  the  last  hour,  and  then  say,  There  is  your  penalty. 
When  a  man  serves  the  devil  he  often  gets  his  wages  in  the 
early  afternoon.  They  are  bad  wages  :  "  The  wages  of  sin  is 
death."  The  devil,  therefore,  is  a  good  paymaster ;  he  pays  fully, 
he  withdraws  nothing,  he  bates  no  jot  or  tittle  :  if  he  is  in  a  pit, 
it  is  a  bottomless  pit :  he  pays  men  on  the  road.  There  is  no 
waiting  for  perdition ;  we  have  it  here  and  now,  sharp  enough 
and  sad  enough.  Let  us  be  wise  in  time,  and  understand  the 
meaning  of  much  pain  and  distress  and  bewilderment.  If  we 
search  into  the  moral  origin  and  causes  of  things,  it  may  be  that 
we  shall  find  that  at  the  beginning  sin  conceived  and  brought 
forth  death. 

Eliphaz  compares  the  destiny  of  the  wicked  to  an  olive  that 
casts  off  its  flowers.*  Every  age  has  its  own  metaphors.  If  we 
trace  the  whole  poetry  of  the  English  tongue,  we  shall  see  how 
wonderfully  it  has  changed  with  the  change  in  the  civilisation 
of  the  day,  with  the  advance  of  learning,  with  the  discoveries  of 
science.  So  we  go  batk  to  these  old  metaphors,  and  we  do  not 
despise  them,  notwithstanding  our  great  intellectual  advancement. 
The  old  Bible  speakers  turned  what  they  themselves  saw  into 
the  argument  for  the  moment  and  for  the  use  of  the  passing  time. 
We  have  heard  that  the  Syrian  olive  brings  forth  fruit  in  the 
first  year,  the  third  year,  the  fifth  year, — brings  forth  its  fruit  at 
the  odd  years,  or  odd  numbers ;  on  the  second  and  fourth  and 
sixth  years  the  olive  rests :  but  then  it  brings  forth  a  good  many 
blossoms;  travellers  say  that  they  have  seen  those  blossoms 
shed — in  the  even  years — shed  in  millions.  Eliphaz,  who  was  a 
seer,  who  had  that  inner  eye  that  wanders  through  eternity,  so 
far  as  much  interpretation  is  concerned,  said — That  is  the  fate  of 
the  wicked  :  their  blossoming  comes  to  nothmg;  all  their  beauty 
ends  in  dust:  the  bad  man  lives  to  be  lost.  Amid  all  this 
metaphor  and  poetry  and  sentiment  there  is  no  beautiful  thing 
said  about  the  wicked  1  The  righteous  "  shall  be  like  a  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water  .  .  .  the  ungodly  are  not  so  :  but 
are  like  the  chaff  which  the  wind  driveth  away."     Poetry  has 

♦  See  note  on  next  page. 


Job  XV.]     THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ.  155 

never  lent  a  figure  to  the  use  of  the  bad  man  by  which  he  might 
represent  wickedness  as  a  great  joy,  and  sweet  secret  blessing. 
Metaphors  have  refused  to  be  hired  for  the  purpose  of  represent- 
ing unholiness  as  good  and  profitable  in  the  largest  sense  of  the 
word  :  all  music,  all  beauty,  all  poetry,  all  things  that  belong 
to  flower,  or  star,  or  silver  stream,  have  come  together  in  one 
sweet  conspiracy  to  represent  God,  God's  love,  God's  care,  God's 
fatherhood,  God's  mercy.  Eliphaz  and  his  brethren  had  but  one 
conception  of  God:  they  knew  not  that  every  man  has  his  own, 
God ;  that  the  more  we  grow  in  grace  the  more  we  change  our 
whole  conception  of  God  :  but  it  is  always  an  advance,  an  accumu- 
lation, a  widening,  a  still  larger  and  intenser  illumination.  In 
this  faith  may  we  live  and  grow,  and  according  to  the  abundance 
and  complexity  of  our  experience,  sanctified  and  ennobled,  we 
shall  be  able  to  sympathise  with  those  who  are  bowed  down, 
and  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  him  that  is  weary. 


NOTE. 

Many  of  the  Scriptural  associations  of  the  olive-tree  are  singularly 
poetical.  It  has  this  remarkable  interest,  that  its  foliage  is  the  earliest  that 
is  mentioned  by  name,  when  the  waters  of  the  flood  began  to  retire 
(Gen.  viii.  ii),  as  we  find  it  the  most  prominent  tree  in  the  earliest  allegory 
(Judg.  ix.  8,  9).  With  David  it  is  the  emblem  of  prosperity  and  the  divine 
blessing  (Ps.  lii.  8) ;  and  he  compares  the  children  of  a  righteous  man  to 
the  "  olive-branches  round  about  his  table  "  (Ps.  cxxviii.  3).  So  with  the  later 
prophets  it  is  the  symbol  of  beauty,  luxuriance,  and  strength ;  and  hence 
the  symbol  of  religious  privileges :  "  His  branches  shall  spread,  and  his 
beauty  shall  be  as  the  olive-tree,"  are  the  words  in  the  concluding  promise 
of  Hosea  (xiv.  6).  "  The  Lord  called  thy  name  a  green  olive-tree,  fair,  and 
of  goodly  fruit,"  is  the  expostulation  of  Jeremiah  when  he  foretells  retri- 
bution for  advantages  abused  (xi.  16).  The  olive  was  among  the  most 
abundant  and  characteristic  vegetation  of  Judaea.  .  .  .  Nor  must  the  flower 
be  passed  over  without  notice  : — 

"Si  bene  floruerint  oleae,  nitidissimus  annus." — Ov.  Fast.  v.  265. 

The  wind  was  dreaded  by  the  cultivator  of  the  olive;  for  the  least 
ruffling  of  a  breeze  is  apt  to  cause  the  flowers  to  fall : — 

"  Florebant  oleae  :  venti  nocuere  protervi." — Ibid.  331. 

Thus  we  see  the  force  of  the  words  of  Eliphaz  the  Temanite :  "  He  shall 
cast  off"  his  flower  like  the  olive  "  (Job  xv.  33).  It  is  needless  to  add  that 
the  locust  was  a  formidable  enemy  of  the  olive  (Amos  iv.  9).  It  happened 
not  unfrequently  that  hopes  were  disappointed,  and  that  "the  labour  of  the 
olive  failed"  (Hab.  iii.  17).  As  to  the  growth  of  the  tree,  it  thrives  best  in 
warm  and  sunny  situations.  It  is  of  a  moderate  height,  with  knotty  gnarled 
trunks,  and  a  smooth  ash-coloured  bark.  It  grows  slowly,  but  it  lives  to 
an  immense  age.  Its  look  is  singularly  indicative  of  tenacious  vigour: 
and  this  is  the  force  of  what  is  said  in  Scripture  of  its  "  greenness,"  as 
emblematic  of  strength  and  prosperity.— Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bibli* 


Chapter  xvi. 
MISERABLE  COMFORTERS. 

"  I  have  hea  :d  many  such  things :  miserable  comforters  are  ye  all.  ...  I 
also  could  speak  as  ye  do :  if  your  soul  were  in  my  soul's  stead,  I  could 
heap  up  words  against  you,  and  shake  mine  head  at  you  "  (vv.  2,  4). 

THERE  was  no  reserve  between  the  men  or  amongst  them 
who  sustained  these  wondrous  colloquies.  They  spoke  to 
one  another  with  startling  simplicity.  It  was  altogether  more 
like  a  controversy  than  an  exercise  of  condolence.  We  are, 
however,  endeavouring  to  understand  the  narrative,  and  not 
endeavouring  to  reinvent  or  reconstruct  it.  Still,  it  is  noticeable 
that  all  the  men  were  marked  by  extreme  frankness  of  spirit. 
Nearly  each  speech  begins  with  words  which  could  hardly  be 
deemed  courteous  in  modern  days.  Job  was  equal  to  the 
occasion ;  whenever  anything  was  said  to  him  that  was  unwel- 
come, unsuitable,  he  answered  in  the  tone  of  the  speaker  to 
whom  he  replied.  But  it  is  equally  noteworthy  that  begin  as 
the  speeches  might  they  ended  in  great  sublimity.  In  this  respect 
they  are  beautiful  types  of  the  best  kind  of  human  growth  ;  diffi- 
culty at  the  first,  and  some  rudeness  and  brokenness,  but  soon 
settling  down  into  right  relation,  proportion,  ultimate  meaning, 
the  whole  culminating  in  brightness  and  glory.  Job  now  puts 
himself  into  a  position  which  we  can  easily  comprehend.  He 
says  :  I  could  talk  as  you  do,  if  I  were  as  unrestrained.  There 
are  no  limits  to  the  audacity  of  ignorance.  The  less  a  man  knows 
the  more  eager  is  he  to  make  it  known.  Some  men  cannot  be 
fluent,  because  they  see  on  the  road  spectres,  angels,  difficulties, 
possibilities,  that  do  not  come  within  the  sweep  of  the  unspiritual 
imagination ;  so  they  halt,  they  balance  sentences,  they  go  round 
the  whole  wealth  of  words  to  see  if  there  be  one  that  will  fitly 
and  precisely  express  the  passing  thought.     Job  says  :  I  could  be 


Jobxvi.]  MISERABLE  COMFORTERS,  157 

a  fluent  speaker  if  I  had  a  fluent  mind :  you  talk  easily  because 
you  have  nothing  to  say;  not  one  of  you  has  made  a  solitary 
original  contribution  towards  the  solution  of  my  difficulty ;  you 
have  a  genius  for  quotation;  you  are  clever  in  recalling  what 
other  men  have  said ;  you  are  reciters,  not  authors  or  creators ; 
you  act  a  dramatic  part;  you  speak  what  other  men  have  written: 
but  Job,  continuing,  says,  in  effect,  I  am  the  sufferer ;  it  is  into 
my  own  soul  that  the  iron  has  entered ;  I  am  dying ;  I  cannot 
fail  to  see  the  end,  and  it  is  one  to  which  I  look  as  the  promise 
of  escape  from  unendurable  torment.  Now,  here  is  a  great 
principle — the  principle  that  non-restraint  would  allow  us  to  do 
many  things  we  cannot  at  present  do ;  or,  otherwise,  the  spirit 
of  restraint  keeps  us  back,  in  thought,  in  speech,  and  in  social 
relation.  What  a  wide  field  of  thought  and  practical  application 
is  opened  up  by  that  principle  !  Christian  men  may  say,  basing 
their  speech  upon  this  principle — We,  too,  could  be  infidels; 
there  is  nothing  so  very  daring,  original,  or  mentally  brilliant 
about  being  an  unbeliever.  We  could  walk  without  faith,  release 
ourselves  from  all  obligations  such  as  impose  themselves  upon 
so-called  Christian  consciences.  Or — ^We,  too,  could  be  worldly ; 
we  could  cut  off"  this  one  little  world,  and  make  an  island  of  it ; 
God  looks  upon  it  as  part  of  a  universe,  but  we  could  insulate 
it,  and  live  upon  it,  and  be  happy  upon  it,  and  pile  up  upon  it — 
a  tombstone.  Or — We,  too,  could  be  really  bad ;  we,  too,  could 
swear  in  tornadoes ;  we,  also,  could  serve  the  devil  with  both 
hands;  we  could  outspeak  the  loudest  at  the  evil  festival;  we 
could  keep  up  the  devil's  dance  longer  than  many  who  have 

served  the  devil  faithfully :  but .     Then  comes  into  operation 

the  spirit  or  principle  of  restraint;  whilst  we  could  do  these 
things  in  one  sense,  we  could  never  do  them  in  another.  Some- 
times the  possible  is  impossible.  We  must  distinguish  the  uses 
of  terms.  All  things  within  a  given  sphere  are  possible,  and  yet 
not  one  of  them  could  any  man  do  who  retained  his  reason  and 
a  sense  of  moral  responsibility.  This  idea  we  have  elaborated 
at  some  length :  shall  we  give  an  illustration  or  two  ?  It  is 
perfectly  possible  for  a  man  to  break  every  piece  of  furniture  he 
has  in  his  house,  and  yet  it  is  impossible  to  every  rational  being. 
It  is  perfectly  possible  for  a  man  of  business  to  dismiss  every 
servant^  and  to  say  to  each,  You  shall  never  serve  me  any 


158  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  LJobxvi. 


more;  and  yet  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that  he  can  do  anything 
of  the  kind.  We  are  thus  watched,  restrained ;  we  have  only 
liberty  between  two  points — a  pendulum  liberty  of  a  limited 
oscillation  :  we  go  to  come  again,  and  whilst  we  swing  in  little 
segments  we  think  we  command  a  universe.  It  must,  therefore, 
not  be  supposed  that  Christian  people  could  not  be  worldly, 
selfish,  bad,  unfaithful; — all  that  little  sphere  is  open  even  to 
Christian  men  :  yet,  whilst  it  is  possible  for  them  to  do  and  to 
be  all  that  is  bad  and  shameful,  it  is  also  impossible,  because 
before  doing  it  they  would  have  to  slay  reason,  conscience,  sense 
of  justice;  they  would  have  to  commit  self-slaughter. 

Job  says  that  he  would  strengthen  his  friends  with  his  mouth, 
and  the  moving  of  his  lips  should  assuage  their  grief  (v.  5).  He 
supposes  that  they  would  sympathise  rather  than  argue.  But  even 
Job  is  not  to  be  taken  at  his  word,  for  he  did  not  know  what  he 
was  talking  about  throughout  the  whole  of  this  controversy :  he 
will  have  to  recall  many  a  word,  re-shape  many  a  sentence,  and 
by  process  of  modification  will  have  to  adjust  himself  to  the 
higher  line  of  purpose  and  providence.  Meanwhile,  who  does 
not  think  himself  ill-treated  when  he  is  suffering?  Who  does 
not  say,  in  his  heart  at  least.  If  you  were  in  my  stead  I  would 
treat  you  better  than  you  are  treating  me  ?  Possibly  nothing 
of  the  kind.  Yet  this  is  profoundly  human.  Who  has  escaped 
wholly  the  domination  of  the  spirit  of  reproach  ?  Who  has  not 
said  to  his  sick  attendant,  You  should  be  more  gentle ;  I  should 
be  so  were  I  in  your  place  ?  Who  has  not  said  to  his  friend, 
You  should  lend  me  more  money,  be  more  liberal  to  me,  be 
more  generous  in  your  consideration  of  me  ;  I  should  be  so  were 
I  in  your  stead  ?  All  this  is  false  argument.  Why  is  the  argu- 
ment false?  Because  the  mental  state  is  vitiated  by  moral 
conditions.  Job  supposed  he  would  be  rich  in  sympathy,  but 
Job  has  proved  that  whatever  was  lacking  in  his  mental  con- 
stitution there  was  no  lack  of  acerbity  in  his  speech. 

The  great  question  to  ask  in  view  of  this  answer  to  Eliphaz 
would  be,  Knowing  the  conditions  under  which  the  history 
began,  how  has  the  devil  carried  out  his  part  of  the  contract? 
Recall  the  case :  the  Lord  said.  Go,  touch  him,  afflict  him ;  only 


Jobxvi.]  MISERABLE  COMFORTERS.  159 

spare  his  life.     How  has  the  devil  accepted  the  situation  ?    How 
does  Job  describe  his  own  position  and  feeling  ? 

"His  archers  compass  me  round  about,  he  cleaveth  my  reins  asunder, 
and  doth  not  spare;  he  pourelh  out  my  gall  upon  the  ground.  He  breaketh 
me  with  breach  upon  breach,  he  runneth  upon  me  like  a  giant.  I  have 
sewed  sackcloth  upon  my  skin,  and  defiled  my  horn  in  the  dust  My  face 
is  foul  with  weeping,  and  on  my  eyelids  is  the  shadow  of  death  "  (w.  13-16). 

This  is  the  devil's  work  I  Whoever  has  been  unfaithful  in  this 
melancholy  business,  the  devil  cannot  be  charged  with  infidelity. 
He  makes  men  weep ;  he  sends  his  darts  and  arrows  into  every 
point  of  body  and  estate ;  he  breaks  man  with  breach  upon  breach, 
he  runs  upon  man  like  a  giant,  and  he  brings  down  the  horn  of 
power  to  the  dust.  What  good  thing  did  the  devil  ever  do  ?  Can 
any  poor  woman  say,  My  home  was  unhappy  until  we  yielded 
ourselves  to  the  dominion  of  the  evil  one,  so-called ;  and  after  that 
the  fire  burned  brightly,  the  table  was  spread  with  plentifulness, 
the  spirit  of  peace  ruled  the  domestic  circle,  and  children  burdened 
with  unspeakable  grief  expanded  like  showers  in  the  sunshine, 
and  were  glad  all  the  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day  ?  Is  any  man 
hardy  enough  to  say  that  so  long  as  he  attempted  to  pray,  and  to 
obey  divine  truth,  and  to  walk  by  the  light  of  Christian  conscience, 
he  was  unhappy  and  miserable :  but  the  moment  he  began  to  give 
way  to  appetite  and  desire  and  passion,  the  moment  he  threw  the 
reins  upon  his  baser  nature,  he  became  a  really  happy  man ;  he 
sang  all  day  and  turned  life  into  a  festival  of  music  ?  Not  one. 
On  the  other  hand,  what  have  we?  All  history  testifies  with 
unbroken  witness.  When  Christ  came  mto  the  house,  all  was 
peace ;  the  crust  was  turned  into  a  loaf,  the  loaf  was  turned  into 
a  banquet,  and  the  little  oil  we  had  in  the  cruse  became  like  a 
plentiful  fountain.  We  cannot  turn  aside  the  argument  of  history, 
or  deny  with  any  justice  the  logic  of  facts. 

But  this  description  of  satanic  work  shows  us  the  devil  under 
restraint.  Observe,  this  is  a  chained  devil.  Note  well  that  this 
is  the  devil  working  under  restraint,  working  permissively  only ; 
not  having  all  his  evil  will,  but  limited.  How  sudden  are  his 
blows  1  how  terrific  the  blasts  of  his  mouth  I  how  unsparing  the 
cruelty  of  his  spirit  I  Nothing  touches  him ;  nothing  brings  him 
to  tears :  he  cannot  cry ;  he  is  all  cruelty,  all  vindictiveness,  all 


i6o  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxvi. 


wrong.  Is  it  far  from  this  reflection  to  a  third  and  most  appalling 
one — namely,  if  this  is  the  devil's  work,  and  the  devil's  work 
when  he  himself  is  under  restraint,  what  must  be  his  work  when 
there  is  no  chain  to  bind  him,  when  he  is  limited  only  by  his  own 
perdition  ?  Do  not  let  us  turn  away  from  such  questions  as  if  we 
were  men  of  dainty  taste  and  dare  not  look  such  matters  in  the 
face;  do  not  let  us  murder  ourselves  at  the  altar  of  sentimentality. 
It  would  be  most  pleasant  to  say,  There  is  no  devil,  there  is  no 
hell,  there  is  no  everlasting  punishment,  there  is  no  worm  that 
dieth  not ;  it  would  be  delightful :  but  would  it  be  true  in  spirit  ? 
Let  us  not  victimise  ourselves  by  dwelling  on  the  literal  descrip- 
tion, and  asking  small  and  narrow  questions  about  what  are  so- 
called  facts,  but  let  us  look  at  the  spirit  of  the  matter ;  and  that 
spirit  to  us  says  distinctly,  "The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard." 
We  see  that  now :  what  hinders  us  from  carrying  forward  the 
immediate  hardness  of  transgression  into  some  other  state  of 
impenitent  consciousness?  What  has  the  transgressor  now? 
Alas  1  he  eats  bitter  bread ;  he  lays  his  head  upon  a  pillow  of 
thorns ;  he  burns  from  head  to  foot  with  a  secret  but  inextin- 
guishable fire :  call  it  self-reproach,  or  remorse,  or  compunction, 
or  what  you  please,  he  has  a  harder  time  of  it  than  even  his  best 
friends  know.  What  must  it  be  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
unrestrained  enemy  ?  It  makes  one's  heart  sink  when  we  hear 
fair,  gentle,  generous  souls  coming  forward  to  say  there  is  no 
such  issue :  we  cannot  but  feel  that  they  are  speaking  sentimen- 
tally rather  than  argumentatively ;  we  cannot  but  feel  that  they 
are  drawing  upon  their  sensibilities  rather  than  justifying  them- 
selves by  the  revealed  Word.  If  you  will,  get  rid  of  the  Bible, 
have  nothing  to  rely  upon  but  your  own  sentiment,  your  own 
consciousness,  your  own  conception  of  justice  and  penalty  :  then 
the  case  will  be  different:  but  you  cannot  keep  the  Bible  and 
deny  the  future  punishment  of  the  wicked. 

But  was  not  Job  sustained  by  a  good  conscience?    He  refers  to 
that  point  in  the  seventeenth  verse  : 

"  Not  for  any  injustice  in  mine  hands :  also  my  prayer  is  pure* 

Do  we  not  sometimes  say  that  a  good  conscience  will  help  a  man 
to  bear  anything  ?     There  is  a  sense  in  which  that  is  true,  but 


Jobxvlj  MISERABLE  COMFORTERS.  161 

there  is  another  sense  in  which  it  is  perfectly  untrue  and  simply 
impossible.  Suffering  unjustly  calls  up  the  conscience  to  question- 
asking.  Unjust  suiEfering  excites  suspicion,  The_SUfferer  says. 
Why  is  this?  If  this  is  the  way  a  righteous  man  is  treafed, 
where  is  the  spirit  of  justice,  the  spirit  of  law,  the  genius  of  recti- 
tude? Unjust  suffering  discourages  prayer.  Unjust  suffering 
tempts  the  enemy  to  triumph,  saying,  *'  Where  is  now  thy  God  ?  " 
Stuff  thy  throat  with  thine  unanswered  prayers,  thou  poltroon, 
thou  Christian  fool !  Why  serve  a  God  who  treats  thee  so  ? 
But  these  were  temporary  questions.  Again  and  again  we  have 
had  to  say  that  if  the  whole  discourse  lay  within  four  given  points, 
no~lnan  could  vindicate  much  that  occurs  in  human  life :  but 
nothing  is  to  be  judged  by  a  short  line,  by  a  limited  and  empt}' 
hour;  everything  is  to  be  judged  by  God's  line  and  by  God's 
eternity.  There  are  men  who  can  say  that  all  that  happened  in 
their  lives  of  an  adverse  kind  has  come  to  be  explained,  and  has 
been  proved  to  be  needful  to  the  larger  and  better  culture  of  the 
life.  If  we  could  establish  one  such  instance  in  our  own  experi- 
ence, that  one  instance  would  carry  the  whole  case.  The  moun- 
tains are  very  high  when  we  stand  at  their  base,  but  could  we 
be  elevated  just  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  see  the 
little  globe  wheeling  round,  we  should  be  unable  to  discover  that 
there  is  a  single  mountain  upon  it.  We  must,  therefore,  take  the 
astronomic  view,  and  not  look  upon  the  great  disparities  of  the 
surface,  when  those  disparities  are  crowding  themselves  upon  our 
vision,  but  look  upon  them  from  some  distance,  and  then  the 
Dawalagiri,  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  Himalayas,  sink  into  the 
surface,  and  the  earth  seems  to  be  without  wart  or  scar  or 
tumulus.     So  it  will  be  in  the  end  I 

Job  gets  some  notion  of  the  reality  of  things  when  he  traces  all 
to  God,  saying, — 

"God  hath  delivered  me  to  the  ungodly,  and  turned  me  over  into  the 
hands  of  the  wicked"  (v.  II). 

We  begin  to  feel  that  even  the  devil  is  but  a  black  servant  in 
God's  house.  There  is  a  sense,  perhaps  hardly  open  to  a  defini- 
tion in  words,  in  which  the  devil  belongs  to  God  as  certainly  as 
does  the  first  archangel.  There  is  no  separate  province  of  God's 
universe:  hell  burns  at  the  very  footstool  of  his  throne.     We 

VOL.  XL  II 


162  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxvi. 

must  not  allow  ourselves  to  believe  that  there  are  rival  powers 
and  competing  dynasties  in  any  sense  which  diminishes  the 
almightiness  of  God.  If  you  say,  as  some  distinguished  philoso- 
phers have  lately  said,  God  cannot  be  almighty  because  there  is 
evil  in  the  world,  you  are  limiting  the  discussion  within  too 
narrow  a  boundary.  We  must  await  the  explanation.  Give 
God  time.  Let  him  work  in  his  eternity.  We  are  not  called 
upon  now  to  answer  questions.  Oh!  could  we  hold  our  peace, 
and  say,  We  do  not  know :  do  not  press  us  for  answers :  let 
patience  have  her  perfect  work :  this  is  the  time  for  labour,  for 
education,  for  study,  for  prayer,  for  sacrifice :  this  poor  twilight 
scene  is  neither  fair  enough  nor  large  enough  to  admit  the  whole 
of  God's  explanation :  we  must  carry  forward  our  study  to  the 
place  which  is  as  lofty  as  heaven,  to  the  time  which  is  as  endless 
as  eternity.  We  all  have  suffering.  Every  man  is  struck  at 
some  point.  Let  not  him  who  is  capable  of  using  some  strength 
speak  contemptuously  of  his  weak  brother.  It  is  easy  for  a  man 
who  has  no  temptation  in  a  certain  direction  to  lecture  another 
upon  going  in  that  direction.  What  we  want  is  a  juster  com- 
prehension of  one  another.  We  should  say.  This  brother  cannot 
stand  such  and  such  a  fire ;  therefore  we  try  to  come  between 
him  and  the  flame :  this  other  brother  can  stand  that  fire  per- 
fectly well,  but  there  is  another  fire  which  he  dare  not  approach  ; 
therefore  we  should  interpose  ourselves  between  him  and  the 
dread  furnace,  knowing  that  we  all  have  some  weakness,  some 
point  of  failure,  some  signature  of  the  dust.  Blessed  are  they 
who  have  great,  generous,  royal,  divine  hearts  I  The  more 
a  man  can  forgive,  the  more  does  he  resemble  God, 


1  i 


Chapter  xvii. 
COMFORTERS  AND  FLATTERERS. 

IN  reading  through  the  Book  of  Job  up  to  this  point,  how  often 
we  forget  what  may  be  termed  the  mental  effects  of  the  disci- 
pline Job  was  undergoing.  We  think  of  Job  as  smitten  down 
bodily,  yea,  as  grievously  afflicted  in  his  flesh ;  we  think  of  his 
losses  of  children  and  of  property;  we  see  him  sitting  in  the 
dust,  a  desolate  man ;  all  this  is  in  accord  with  the  simple  facts 
of  the  occasion  :  but  have  we  not  forgotten  that  some  disaster 
may  have  been  wrought  ,in  the  man's  mind  ?  Has  all  this  ^^ 
Satanic  discipline  befallen  the  man,  and  is  his  mind  in  ^uipoise,  ^  w^M-» 
in  tranquillity ;  able  to  look  around  the  whole  horizon  ol  taci  aild  Y'^JLi^ 
purpose,  and  to  consider  it  with  undiminished  and  unbeclouded 
reason ;  does  no  kind  of  insanity  accompany  some  temptations 
or  trials  ?  We  shall  find  along  that  line  of  inquiry  a  large  explana- 
tion of  mysteries  which  perplex  the  imagination,  and  sometimes 
indeed  aggravate  and  trouble  the  conscience.  There  is  a  psycho- 
logical side  to  this  discipline ;  Job's  soul  was  tormented  as  well 
as  Job's  body  afflicted.  We  think  of  the  sore  boils,  of  the 
grievous  outbreakings  of  disease,  of  the  rheum  in  the  joints,  of 
the  gall  shed  upon  the  ground ; — all  that  is  incidental,  external. 
The  real  trouble  is  in  the  soul ;  his  reason  rises,  as  it  were,  from 
the  throne,  and  says,  I  will  now  leave  thee ;  and  a  man  in  that 
state  is  more  to  be  pitied  than  the  man  who  has  gone  farther 
into  the  mystery  of  mental  unbalancing  and  spiritual  Ibss.  It  is 
in  the  process  towards  unconsciousness,  yea,  towards  madness, 
when  we  are  partly  man,  partly  beast,  partly  devil,  with  just  one 
gleam  of  deity  shot  through  the  tumult,  that  we  are  most  to  be 
pitied.  All  proportions  are  altered — all  colours,  all  harmonies, 
all  the  parable  of  nature,  all  the  apocalypse  of  the  universe; 
everything  is  out  of  course,  out  of  square,  out  of  balance,  and  the 


i64  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxvii. 

things  we  once  relied  upon  as  if  they  were  solid  rock,  feel  as  if 
they  were  giving  way  under  our  uncertain  feet.  One  would 
suppose  that  the  devil's  work  in  the  world  has  simply  been  to 
limit  the  days  of  our  life,  to  throw  us  into  a  kind  of  social  dis- 
order, and  to  set  up  a  black  ruler  called  affliction  to  tyrannise 
over  the  strength  and  the  fortune  of  man.  The  case  lies  deeper : 
our  reason  is  beclouded,  the  whole  inner  man  sits  now  in  twi- 
light, now  in  darkness ;  we  see  men  as  trees  walking,  we  take 
hold  of  things  by  the  wrong  end,  we  misquote  familiar  sayings, 
we  invert  all  that  has  been  established  and  ordained.  Unless  we 
enter  into  this  mystery  of  satanic  power  and  discipline,  we  shall 
be  dealing  with  the  exterior  and  never  touching  the  spirit  of 
things.  The  devil  has  got  hold  of  our  hearts.  We  know  that 
he  has  broken  our  bones,  and  filled  our  blood  with  poison,  and 
scattered  premature  snow  upon  our  heads,  and  that  he  has  taken 
cruelly  to  dig  our  graves  in  our  very  sight — as  if  he  might  not 
have  dug  them  in  the  dark,  and  said  nothing  to  us  until  we  went 
through  the  pathway  of  flowers  into  the  last  gloom.  All  that  we 
know  ;  but  that  is  not  enough  to  know  :  your  thought  is  wrong — 
that  marvellous  quantity  within  you  which  makes  you  a  man, 
which  lifts  you  by  the  measurement  of  a  universe  above  the 
noblest  fowl  that  ever  spread  its  pinions  in  the  sunlight :  the 
soul  has  been  twisted,  perverted,  depraved,  sown  thickly  with 
black  and  pestilent  ideas. 

This  is  the  explanation  of  all  the  intellectual  tumult  of  the 
Book  of  Job  up  to  this  point.  Even  the  comforters  were  as  much 
under  satanic  temptation  as  Job  was,  in  the  broader  sense ;  there 
was  a  keener  accent  for  the  moment  in  Job's  case  than  in  theirs, 
but  we  must  never  think  of  Job  as  a  man  to  be  pitied  by  men 
who  need  no  pity  themselves.  Job  was  a  patriarch  in  more 
senses  than  one — a  great  world-father — and  all  his  children  are 
black  with  the  same  temptations  and  sad  with  the  same  distresses. 
Do  not  let  us  put  away  1  lese  old  Bible  men  from  us,  as  if  they 
were  figures  upon  a  blackboard  meant  to  illustrate  something  that 
occurred  long  centuries  since.  The  Bible  men  are  the  men  of 
all  time.  There  are  no  other  men.  You  will  find  yourself 
ull-drawn,  coloured  to  the  last  hue,  in  God's  great  book  of 
portraiture. 


JobxviL]      C0MF0R2ERS  AND  FLATTERERS,  165 

Here,  then,  is  Job  with  his  ideas  perverted,  his  hope  covered 
over  with  midnight  gloom,  his  whole  soul  upheaved  and  troubled 
with  an  unspeakable  distress.  He  has  lost  the  right  conception 
of  God.  This  is  what  occurred  in  Eden.  Satan  attacked  the 
ideas  of  men.  Satan  did  not  afflict  Adam  or  Eve  with  some  poor 
curable  bodily  ailment :  he  whispered  a  question  into  the  mind. 
Beware  of  question-asking.  Who  asked  the  first  question  in  the 
Bible?  The  devil.  We  have  seen  that  there  is  a  question- 
asking  which  is  reverent,  which  is  part  of  the  highest  processes 
of  education  ;  but  there  is  also  a  question-asking  which  doubles 
the  mind  down  into  the  earth ;  troubles  it  with  needless  mys- 
teries ;  throws  across  its  adoration  a  dash  of  wonder  which 
becomes  presently  a  blot  of  scepticism.  "  Yea,  hath  God  said, 
Ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the  garden  ?  "  If  you  were  to 
eat  of  this  tree  you  would  be  gods  yourselves.  So  Job  is  now 
asking  curious  questions,  which  he  never  asked  in  the  days  when 
the  enemy  was  far  away,  and  his  prayer  was  a  broad  petition,  as 
it  were  a  whole  morning's  dew  exhaling  under  the  call  of  the  sun. 
But  now  the  very  proverbs  he  trusted  to  as  revelations  he  mis- 
quotes, and  misplaces,  and  misapplies ;  and  all  established  truth, 
to  the  great  horror  of  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  the  typical  traditionalist, 
becomes  a  kind  of  blurred  thing  which  belongs  to  nobody.  This 
accounts  for  the  state  of  the  world,  and  the  state  of  what  is  tem- 
porarily called  the  Church.  Once  the  world  stood  in  God,  waited 
for  God,  loved  God,  felt  a  sense  of  void  and  of  hollowness  in  the 
absence  of  God  :  but  ever  since  what  invention,  what  wondering, 
what  misapprehension  !  The  right  construction  of  this  need  not 
be  harsh.  When  men  are  now  plunging,  groping,  rushing  forth 
with  apparently  irreverent  and  impetuous  audacity,  why  not  say 
of  them,  They  have  lost  their  God,  and  they  must  find  him  ere 
the  sun  go  down  ? 

Let  us  follow  out  a  little  in  detail  the  experience  of  Job  in 
this  matter.  Having  lost  the  right  conception  of  God,  he  has 
been  filled  with  a  sense  of  self-repugnance  : — "  My  breath  is 
corrupt,  my  days  are  extinct"  (xvii.  i) ;  and  then  in  another 
place  he  says,  "When  a  few  years  are  come,  then  I  shall  go 
the  way  whence  I  shall  not  return"  (xvi.  22).  Throughout 
the  whole  of  his  speech  he  feels  a  sense   of  self-disgust     A 


i66  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxvii. 

strange  and  beautiful  thing  is  that  in  the  development  of  the 
history  of  a  soul.  Man  cannot  be  satisfied  with  himself;  he 
says,  There  are  lines  of  beauty,  and  lines  of  strength ;  there  are 
qualities  not  to  be  denied;  but  oh,  the  monotony  of  myself! 
Why,  it  is  so,  as  we  have  before  said,  with  regard  to  nature. 
There  is  nothing  more  monotonous  than  sunshine.  The  sunlight 
would  tire  you  long  before  the  stars  do.  O  weary,  weary 
sunshine  I  we  soon  come  to  say.  The  grass  is  all  burned  up, 
and  the  flowers  seem  to  be  afraid,  as  if  they  had  sinned  and 
had  been  forsaken  of  the  blessed  Spirit ;  Oh  send  the  clouds,  the 
black  rain-laden  clouds,  and  let  them  come,  and  let  us  see 
rainbows,  and  hear  the  plash  of  liquid  music,  and  observe  the 
whole  earth,  as  it  were,  rising  in  grateful  appreciation  of  the 
long-needed  visitation !  So  a  man  becomes  intolerably  mono- 
tonous to  himself  if  he  think  about  himself,  and  cannot  complete 
himself  by  the  idea  of  God ;  he  sickens  of  himself;  he  says. 
This  self-analysis  must  go  no  farther ;  I  have  nothing  else  to  do ; 
I  am  continually  practising  vivisection  upon  my  own  soul ;  I  am 
tired  of  myself;  my  very  breath  is  corrupt,  my  days  are  extinct ; 
I  am  offensive  to  myself.  That  is  the  issue  of  human  life 
without  the  right  conception  of  God.  We  need  God  to  give  our 
manhood  its  right  expression,  to  limit  it  by  its  proper  boundaries, 
to  set  it  in  its  right  perspective,  to  give  to  it  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises.  Given  a  right  conception  of  God,  the 
great  One,  and  greatest  of  all  because  he  loves  with  ineffable 
affection,  with  infinite  emotion,  with  tenderness  that  shrinks  not 
from  the  agony  of  the  cross, — then  we  ourselves  are  but  a  little 
lower  than  God,  we  have  companionship  that  fits  our  necessity, 
that  appeases  the  prayer  of  every  instinct,  and  gives  us  rest  and 
hope.  We  need  to  withdraw  from  ourselves,  in  order  to  return 
to  ourselves  with  all  our  faculties  in  full  force,  and  all  our 
aspirations  sanctified  and  transformed  into  prayers.  Man  cannot 
live  always  under  a  roof  of  wood  however  polished,  or  fresco 
however  handled.  Man  was  made  to  live  under  the  sky.  The 
roof  affords  a  momentary  hospitality,  which  is  precious ;  but 
taking  the  years  in  fives  and  tens  and  twenties,  carrying  on 
human  age  to  fifty,  and  farther  on  still,  man  says.  Is  there 
nothing  higher  than  this  poor  roof,  which  seems  to  be  coming 
nearer  and  nearer  to  me,  threatening  to  crush  me?     Is  there 


Jobxvii.]      COMFORTERS  AND  FLATTERERS.  167 

no  firmament,  no  wide  open  sky  ?  He  feels  like  a  young  bird, 
moved  by  an  inexplicable  fluttering,  which,  being  interpreted  and 
magnified  into  its  fullest  meaning,  signifies  flying  without  wings 
and  without  fear.  You  know  by  your  experience  that  when  you 
have  lost  the  right  conception  of  God  your  life  goes  down  into 
a  sense  of  self-corruptness  and  self-loathing,  which  is  made  up 
for  in  some  degree  by  the  fool's  policy  of  excitement,  amusement, 
dress,  vanity,  of  every  figure  and  every  change  :  but  the  dead 
self  is  still  rotting,  and  presently  the  pestilence  will  make  the 
air  intolerable.  Be  wise  in  time.  Seek  thy  God,  O  man,  and 
in  him  alone  wilt  thou  find  true  manhood,  joy  unstained  as 
morning  dew  and  beautiful  as  morning  light. 

Then  Job,  having  lost  the  right  conception  of  God,  finds  himself 
in  utter  loss  and  misery  : — 

"  He  hath  made  me  also  a  b3rword  .  .  .  mine  eye  also  is  dim  by  reason  of 
sorrow,  and  all  my  members  are  as  a  shadow  "  (w.  6,  7). 

Who  cannot  sign  this  with  his  own  name,  saying.  That  is  my 
experience ;  the  letters  may  have  been  changed  a  little,  but  the 
spirit  and  the  substance  represent  an  actual  fact  in  the  spiritual 
life  ?  Then  we  have  again  Invention.  Man  will  invent  some- 
thing ;  he  will  build  some  altar  to  a  forbidden  god  ;  he  will 
invent  a  superstition;  he  will  create  a  new  arrangement  and 
adjustment  of  social  relations  and  responsibilities;  he  will  try 
to  cure  himself,  only  to  end  the  trial  in  the  conviction  that 
self-cure  is  impossible.  Observe,  self-cure  has  been  attempted. 
It  does  not  lie  amongst  the  untried  suggestions  of  human  thought 
and  human  history.  From  the  beginning,  when  fig-leaf  was 
attached  to  fig-leaf,  man  has  been  trying  to  hide  his  sin,  to  cover 
his  transgression,  to  conceal  his  shame;  having  fallen  out  of 
heaven,  he  has  been  building  a  kind  of  staircase  back  again  to 
the  sky;  and,  lo,  in  the  very  midst  of  his  venture,  the  whole 
edifice  has  collapsed,  and  he  has  returned  to  the  dust.  This 
is  the  deep  conviction  of  Christian  faith  and  Christian  experience, 
and  this  is  the  reason  of  Christian  activity.  We  do  not  build 
churches  for  the  purpose  of  beautifying  landscapes ;  we  do  not 
put  on  church-roofs  for  the  birds  to  build  in;  we  build  the 
sanctuary  because  our  souls  need  it — not  always  in  the  same 


i68  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxvii. 

degree  of  consciousness.  Sometimes  we  are  hardly  aware  that 
we  have  souls ;  it  would  seem  as  if  now  and  again  we  passed 
into  the  kind  of  unconsciousness  which  is  mistaken  for  satis- 
faction; we  are  merry,  we  can  sing  and  play  and  dance,  we 
admire  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  say,  with  a  sigh  that  has 
no  deeper  meaning  than  the  words  it  utters,  the  world  is  very 
beautiful,  call  it  a  vale  of  tears  who  may.  When  a  man  is  full 
of  strength,  when  fortune  goes  well  with  him,  then  he  needs, 
to  his  own  immediate  consciousness,  no  great  sky  of  thought  and 
hope,  no  God  judging  one  day  and  redeeming  another,  and 
conducting  all  the  mysterious  process  of  human  education :  the 
man  thinks  he  has  attained  the  summit  of  human  desire.  But 
the  day  has  changed ;  the  year  is  not  all  June ;  the  east  wind 
blows,  the  frost  seals  up  the  fountains,  the  winter  dismisses  the 
labourer  from  the  field,  and  darkness  suddenly  blots  out  the  day, 
and  death  comes  after  affliction  has  fought  a  great  fight  against 
human  strength — then  grim,  ghastly,  pitiless,  all-devouring  death 
comes  ;  then  they  who  were  so  glad  in  June,  when  they  thought 
themselves  part  of  the  great  system  of  bird  and  flower  and  light, 
begin  to  inquire  for  comfort,  for  Christian  inspiration,  for  the 
strength  which  looks  death  in  the  face  and  bewilders  the  power 
of  the  tyrant.  We  must  take  an  all-round  life  as  the  circuit  of 
our  judgment,  if  we  would  deal  gravely  and  justly  with  this 
solemn  subject 

Job  found  himself  surrounded  by  flatterers. 

"  He  that  speaketh  flattery  to  his  friends,  even  the  eyes  of  his  children 
shall  fail  **  (v.  5). 

This  is  the  position  of  affairs  to-day :  we  are  surrounded  by 
comforters, — that  is  to  say,  by  men  who  do  not  understand  us, 
and  whose  words  have  no  relation  to  our  experience.  Hence 
oftentimes  the  empty  church.  The  world  knows  that  what  the 
man  of  "  words  "  is  talking  about  has  no  relation  to  the  killing 
pain,  the  intolerable  sorrow,  the  unutterable  agony  of  life.  So 
the  fool  often  beats  the  preacher  herein,  that  he  can  at  least 
often  excite,  or  intoxicate,  and  create  a  momentary  illusion  apt 
to  be  mistaken  for  a  permanent  satisfaction.  And  we  are 
surrounded  by  flatterers,  men  who  tell  us  that  after  all  we  are 
not  so  bad.    Look  at  your  conduct :  you  pay  your  way,  you  keep 


Jobxvii.]      COMFORTERS  AND  FLATTERERS.  169 

your  word,  you  are  faithful  to  your  marriage,  you  are  known  in 
the  neighbourhood  as  an  upright  citizen — why,  where  will  they 
match  you?  And  the  heart  all  the  time  says,  Such  talk  is 
flattery,  such  talk  is  falsehood.  I  know  all  they  say,  but  it  was 
done  by  the  hand ;  it  is  a  trick  of  mine.  I  keep  my  clock  right 
by  putting  the  hands  backwards  and  forwards  just  as  the  general 
time  requires,  and  they  think  the  clock  keeps  its  own  time ;  all 
my  morality  is  etymological,  and  really  a  manner,  an  attitude ;  I 
pay  my  bills  punctually  because  I  have  an  object,  which  I  will 
not  disclose :  but  they  are  telling  lies  all  the  time,  they  are  not 
touching  my  soul  with  any  comfort ;  in  my  soul  I  despise  their 
flattery,  and  I  blow  out  the  candles  of  hope  which  they  would 
set  in  the  window  of  my  soul.  Do  not  believe  the  flatterers. 
They  will  tell  you  that  if  you  attend  to  sanitary  discipline,  to 
all  personal  rule  and  self-subjection,  if  you  store  your  intellect, 
if  you  cultivate  your  taste,  you  will  pass  through  the  world 
honourably.  Let  your  soul  speak;  ask  it  at  midnight  what  it 
thinks  of  all  the  flare  and  garish ness  held  before  it  in  the  vulgar 
day.  Let  your  conscience  speak;  speak  to  yourself.  Do  not 
make  a  noise  in  the  ear, — that  is  not  talking  to  yourself — but 
hold  your  soul  to  an  exercise  of  spiritual  attention,  and  the  soul 
will  tell  you  that  everything  that  addresses  itself  to  fancy,  to 
manner,  to  custom,  to  bondage,  is  a  lying  deity,  a  false  angel,  a 
worthless  goepel. 

Observe  how,  without  the  right  conception  of  God,  all  proverbs 
and  maxims  as  quoted  so  fluently  by  the  man  of  yellow  hair  from 
the  land  of  pleasantness,  Zophar  and  Naamathite,  are  turned  up- 
side down :  they  are  quoted,  but  the  old  music  does  not  come 
back  with  them  : — 

"The  righteous  also  shall  hold  on  his  way,  and  he  that  hath  clean  hands 
shall  be  stronger  and  stronger  "  (v.  9). 

The  words  are  quoted  as  if  they  ought  to  be  true,  as  if  once 
they  had  been  known  to  be  true:  but  now  that  I  repeat  them. 
Job  might  have  said.  They  seem  to  mock  me,  because  whilst  the 
words  are  being  uttered  by  my  lips  they  are  being  contradicted 
by  the  facts  which  I  embody.  I  am  righteous,  I  have  clean 
hands,  I  cannot  hold  on  my  way,  I  cannot  get  stronger  and 
stronger ;  I  am  getting  weaker  and  weaker :  the  prove^ 


170  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [JobxviL 

to  have  been  right ;  it  must  have  come  down  from  heaven,  this 
is  not  a  flower  grown  in  our  gardens,  it  was  a  flower  from  heaven ; 
but  I  am  contradicting  it, — I,  the  most  reputable  righteous  man  of 
my  time,  am  lying  here  self-disgusted  :  my  breath  is  corrupt,  my 
whole  flesh  is  a  burden  of  fire,  and  as  for  my  hope,  it  is  put  out, 
like  a  candle  by  a  cross-blowing  wind.  Thus  we  cannot  get 
comfort  from  the  old  maxims  and  commonplaces  of  history. 
Even  the  old  wine  of  truth  does  not  taste  as  it  once  did.  An 
enemy  hath  done  this;  let  him  be  named,  described,  set  forth 
in  every  frightsome  detail,  that  men  may  know  him,  and  resist 
him  when  he  would  approach. 

Then  all  life  bears  downwards : — 

"  My  days  are  past,  my  purposes  are  broken  off,  even  the  thoughts  of  my 
heart.  They  change  the  night  into  day  :  the  light  is  short  because  of  dark- 
ness. If  I  wait,  the  grave  is  mine  house :  I  have  made  my  bed  in  the 
darkness.  I  have  said  to  corruption,  Thou  art  my  father:  to  the  worm. 
Thou  art  my  mother,  and  my  sister  "  (vv.  11-15). 

This  is  the  course  of  human  nature  without  the  divine  sanctifi- 
cation  and  guidance.  Do  not  quote  appearances  as  against  the 
philosophy.  What  can  be  more  deceptive  than  appearances? 
"  Things  are  not  what  they  seem."  Do  not  say  that  the  world 
is  well  dressed.  We  know  it.  But  a  corpse  may  be  shrouded 
in  silver-cloth.  We  are  not  asking  about  fortune,  property, 
display,  appearances.  We  know  a  cripple  by  his  lurch,  what- 
ever purple  may  be  upon  his  shoulders.  Byron,  the  poet  of  fire, 
the  seer  of  perdition,  knew  he  was  lame,  though  he  was  a  lord. 
You  cannot  cover  up  the  evil,  in  the  sense  of  extinguishing  it. 
For  a  time  it  subsides ;  then  it  heaves.  Oh,  that  initial  heave  I 
under  whose  influence  the  soul  says,  It  is  all  coming  back  again. 
It  is  like  poor  Mary  Lamb's  intermittent  insanity.  She  would 
say  to  her  brother,  almost  in  tenderness  an  apostle  of  Christ,  I 
feel  it  coming  on  again  !  She  would  have  her  little  arrangements 
made  whilst  she  could  make  them,  because  to-morrow  the  great 
darkness  might  settle  upon  her  mind,  and  she  would  have  to  be 
led  away  to  an  appropriate  place.  The  feeling  of  its  coming  on  ! 
So  it  is  with  conscience,  with  the  presence  of  evil  in  the  soul : 
a  passion  is  lighted,  an  instinct  is  awakened,  an  old  appetite 
begins  to  feel  a  burnins  thirst  ;  the  soul  says — O  my  God.  it  is 


Jobxvii.]      COMFORTERS  AND  FLATTERERS,  171 

coming  on  again  !  corruption,  thou  art  my  father :  worm,  thou 
art  my  mother  and  my  sister !  This  is  part  of  human  experience, 
and  sometimes  an  appointed  part ;  because  it  may  be  that  God 
has  withdrawn  himself  that  we  might  feel  our  need  of  him.  He 
has  taken  a  time  for  withdrawment,  but  he  himself  has  measured 
it ;  his  sweet  words  are — "  For  a  moment  I  have  forsaken  thee  ; 
but  with  great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee."  Thus  he  blots  out 
our  moments  of  darkness ;  thus  he  extinguishes  our  sensations 
of  sin;  "where  sin  abounds,  grace  doth  much  more  abound." 
God  pours  the  Atlantic  of  his  blessing  or  grace  over  the  black 
pebble  of  our  iniquity  :  it  is  lost ;  it  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

Then  Job  looks  round  and  says,  '*  And  where  is  now  my  hope  ? 
as  for  my  hope,  who  shall  see  it?"  (xvii.  15.)  Thus  he  talks 
with  a  strange  incoherence ;  thus  he  is  true  to  the  working  of  an 
intermittent  insanity.  Even  the  bad  man  looks  round  some- 
times for  his  hope.  Even  the  atheist  tries  to  pray ;  he  may  have 
his  own  form  of  words,  and  may  disdain  all  Christian  formulas 
of  worship,  but  the  soul,  label  it  atheist  or  theist,  must  some- 
times say  to  all  other  powers  within,.  Let  us  pray.  What,  then, 
is  needed  amid  all  this  riot  and  tumult,  this  darkness,  this  storm 
of  night  ?  What  is  needed  ?  The  gospel  is  needed ;  the  glorious 
gospel  of  the  blessed  God;  the  speech  of  blood.  What  is 
needed  ?  A  man  is  needed,  beautiful  as  God,  complete  as  the 
Father,  holy  as  the  eternal  deity.  A  Lamb  without  spot  and 
without  blemish  is  needed.  Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  Golgotha,  are 
all  needed.  Son  of  God,  we  need  thee  I  Blessed  Jesus,  Son  of 
Mary,  Son  of  man,  Son  of  God,  Immanuel,  Wonderful,  Counseller, 
everlasting  Father,  Prince  of  Peace, — names  that  seem  to  con- 
tradict one  another — we  need  thee.  Even  so,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly. 


Chapter  zvill. 
THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OP  BILDAD. 

WE  now  begin  to  see  in  what  a  little  world  the  three  com- 
forters lived.  There  are  men  who  can  only  go  on  for  a 
time ;  then  they  resign  their  ministry,  and  go  elsewhere  to  repeat 
the  few  tunes  they  know.  It  was  so  with  Job's  three  friends. 
They  began  eloquently;  they  seemed  as  if  they  were  about  to 
fly  straight  away  into  higher  levels  than  had  ever  yet  been 
attained  in  eloquence  or  in  music.  But  we  now  see  them  return- 
ing :  we  now  notice,  what  had  escaped  us  before,  the  tether 
which  binds  them  to  the  earth.  They  repeat  themselves ;  even 
their  cursing  becomes  commonplace  by  repetition ;  the  sharp 
accent  is  no  longer  felt ;  we  begin  to  expect  the  fury,  the  little 
whirlwind,  and  the  brutum  fulmen,  "  Bildad  reproveth  Job  of 
presumption  and  impatience."  So  says  the  heading  of  the  chapter. 
But  this  is  precisely  what  the  comforters  have  been  doing  all 
the  time.  All  their  eloquence  is  but  a  variety  of  denunciation. 
They  have  never  gone  into  far-reaching  philosophy ;  they  have 
beaten  Job  with  the  rods  which  have  chastised  all  preceding 
generations,  but  they  have  not  touched  with  curing  balm,  with 
soothing  sympathy,  the  wound  which  has  rent  his  heart.  All 
literalists  live  in  a  little  world.  We  cannot  stretch  the  alphabet 
beyond  a  certain  point.  The  comforters  told  Job  all  they  knew, 
and  they  knew  nothing  about  his  case  when  all  was  told.  They 
had  wise  words  to  speak,  but  they  were  speaking  them  to  the 
wrong  man.  A  word  fitly  spoken — how  good  it  is  when  it 
just  fits  the  occasion,  when  it  says  enough  but  not  too  much, 
when  it  soothes  but  not  excoriates.  The  heart  knows  such  a 
word  when  it  is  well  spoken.  There  are  many  things  we  know 
which  we  were  not  aware  o£  Some  tunes  seem  to  belong  to 
us;  soon  we  come  to  think  that  we  ourselves  invented  them; 
the  authorship  is  forgotten  in  the  fascination  of  the  music,  so 


Jobxviii.]    THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD,  173 

that  were  we  charged  with  singing  another  man's  tune,  we  might 
for  the  moment  resent  the  impeachment,  feeling  that  the  melody 
came  so  naturally  and  swingingly  into  our  lives  that  we  might 
have  made  it,  if  we  did  not.  It  is  even  so  with  Christ's  great 
gospel :  it  becomes  part  of  us ;  chapter  and  verse  we  have  for- 
gotten ;  nor  need  we  remember  them ;  the  great  life-principle 
is  in  the  blood,  in  the  heart-beat,  in  the  new  prayer  which 
surprises  every  day  the  tongue  that  utters  it.  But  Job's  com- 
forters had  a  lesson,  and  not  a  teaching  rooted  in  eternity,  and 
stretching  on  through  all  infinities  of  thought  and  feeling  and 
want.  There  is  a  difference  between  a  recitation  and  a  speech  ; 
there  is  an  indescribable  difference  between  that  which  we  recite 
from  our  memory  and  that  which  God  creates  for  us  in  the  heart, 
and  enables  us  to  hurl  from  the  lip  with  ringing  and  gracious 
power.  The  three  comforters  would  have  talked  just  the  same 
to  any  other  man  in  suffering  as  they  talked  to  Job.  They  had 
not  special  insight  into  particular  cases.  Any  one  can  tell  the 
difference  between  night  and  day  :  but  what  is  the  difference 
between  twilight  and  twilight  ?  What  is  the  difference  between 
colours  that  shade  into  one  another,  as  if  slyly  and  invisibly,  as 
if  to  cheat  the  eyesight  and  the  fancy  of  the  world  ?  Great 
spiritual  teaching  depends  upon  this  insight,  this  discrimination, 
so  that  there  shall  be  seven  Gospels  in  a  family  of  seven  people, 
and  yet  all  the  Gospels  shall  be  one,  but  they  shall  be  so  dis 
tributed,  and  coloured,  and  represented,  and  focussed,  as  to  suit 
our  necessity  and  satisfy  our  eye,  every  beholder  seeing  what 
he  needs,  and  being  fascinated  by  the  celestial  beauty.  This  is 
the  difference  between  Jesus  Christ  and  all  other  teachers. 
Jesus  Christ  never  repeated  himself.  He  had  a  parable  for  every 
case.  He  knew  the  right  word  to  speak  to  every  individual — 
man,  woman,  or  little  child.  He,  too,  could  outcurse  Bildad; 
when  it  came  to  objurgation  and  fire-speech  all  the  comforters 
of  Job  stood  back  to  give  him  space  enough.  Yet  how  gentle, 
how  sweet,  how  tender,  how  gracious  !  Touching  a  flower  only 
to  make  it  blush  in  some  deeper  beauty,  lifting  up  a  child  only 
to  touch  it  into  some  higher  consciousness  of  life,  and  touching 
trembling  tears  only  to  make  them  into  quivering  jewels.  Never 
man  spake  like  this  man  !  Every  man  said  to  Jesus  Christ  for 
himself—  my  Lord  and  my  God.     Such  was  the  administration  of 


174  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxviii. 

Jesus  Christ,  that  he  seemed  to  belong  exclusively  to  every  man 
as  each  man's  sole  and  entire  possession. 

How  comes  it,  then,  that  three  men,  not  without  large  sense 
and  power  of  words,  should  thus  have  walked  round  and  round 
Job  and  left  no  blessing  behind  them  ?  It  is  the  misery  of  the 
world  which  has  puzzled  the  philosophy  of  the  world.  Oh,  this 
misery!  The  books  of  the  philosophers  have  nothing  in  them 
to  touch  the  world's  misery.  Reading  all  other  books  but  Christ's, 
one  would  imagine  that  this  was  a  healthy  world,  a  world  all 
sunshine,  steeped  in  summer,  painted  or  belted  with  rainbows; 
every  river  exhaling  heavenly  odours,  every  fountain  filled  with 
the  gold  of  the  new  Jerusalem !  But  this  misery — red-eyed, 
tear-stained  misery;  this  gaping  wound,  this  infinite  sorrow, 
this  Gethsemane  of  woe  I  Before  that  spectacle  philosophy  looks 
poor,  shrivelled,  empty-handed.  Philosophy  does  well  in  a 
world  that  is  all  summer ;  philosophy  then  talks  largely,  wisely, 
in  long, .  long  words ;  philosophy  then  invents  words,  puts 
syllable  to  syllable  like  joint  to  joint,  and  goes  on  with  the  long 
vertebration  :  but  this  horrible  misery,  these  agonies  that  will 
not  bear  to  be  talked  to  in  polysyllables,  these  pierced  hearts, 
these  wounded  spirits,  what  is  to  be  said  of  them  ?  It  is  in 
sight  of  these  that  Jesus  Christ  shines  forth  in  all  the  mildest 
radiance  of  his  love ;  he  is  able  to  speak  a  word  in  season  unto 
him  that  is  weary;  to  speak  as  if  he  were  not  speaking;  to 
breathe  eloquence  rather  than  to  articulate  it.  It  is  the  misery 
of  the  world  that  perplexes  agnostics  and  secularists,  and  in- 
ventors, and  tricksters  of  every  name  and  colour.  They  would 
have  an  open  highway  were  they  not  blocked  back  by  misery. 
It  was  so  with  Job's  three  comforters.  They  could  not  speak  to 
such  misery  as  his.  They  had  seen  sorrow  before,  but  a  kind 
of  sorrow  that  might  have  been  laughed  out  of  its  melancholia  ; 
they  had  seen  instances  of  men  in  loss  and  trouble,  but  a  sort 
of  every-day  loss  and  commonplace  trouble,  and  a  word  of  good 
cheer  might  bring  back  memory  enough,  and  kindle  hope  enough 
to  meet  the  occasion  :  but  here  is  a  man  whose  gall  is  shed  upon 
the  ground,  and  whose  root  is  cleft  with  lightning,  and  they  can 
only  walk  round  him,  and  abuse  him,  and  shoot  hard  words  at# 
Lis  poor  weary  head ;  and  he  cries  to  be  saved  from  his  friends, 


Jobxviii.]    THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD,  175 

for  they  are  but  an  addition  to  his  sorrow.  Whenever  you  hear 
of  any  man  who  has  any  nostrum  to  offer  for  the  good  of  the 
world,  inquire  what  he  proposes  to  do  with  the  world's  misery. 
Never  let  any  empiric  run  away  with  the  idea  that  he  is  treating 
a  healthy  world ;  ask  him  what  he  will  do  with  the  churchyards. 
He  wants  to  sail  on  blue  rivers,  on  seas  ruled  by  a  halcyon 
spirit ;  he  wants  to  take  you  away  into  groves  and  waving  woods 
and  odorous  gardens :  ask  him  what  he  intends  to  do  with  the 
cemeteries,  with  the  sick  at  heart,  with  men  of  shattered  vows, 
with  lives  that  have  lost  the  centre,  with  souls  that  have  been 
caught  in  the  infernal  gravitation,  and  are  being  drawn  down- 
wards to  hell.  Be  impatient  with  all  the  men  who  would  heal 
the  world's  wound  slightly;  be  wrathful  with  the  men  who 
would  daub  the  wall  with  untempered  mortar.  There  is  nothing 
that  can  meet  the  whole  necessity  but  the  evangelical  faith.  We 
have  heard  that  faith  jeered  at,  but  the  faith  still  remains,  large, 
noble,  holy,  unresentful.  The  evangelical  faith  must  not  be 
touched,  except  that  it  may  be  redefined,  delivered  from  some 
of  its  friends  who  have  unduly  narrowed  it,  and  who  have  in- 
terfered with  the  music  of  its  expression  :  but  in  its  soul  it  is 
right ;  it  touches  every  day's  history ;  it  has  an  answer  to  every 
day's  necessity;  it  has  a  blessing  for  every  moment's  labour. 
The  three  friends  of  Job  did  not  understand  the  case,  or  had  not 
at  hand  the  remedy ;  and  therefore  they  talked  much,  denounced 
much,  and  tried  to  talk  themselves  into  some  new  power  of 
dealing  with  an  unfamiliar  instance. 

The  poorest  of  all  explanations  is  personal  wickedness.  That 
was  the  piece  de  resistance  of  which  the  three  friends  always  availed 
themselves.  They  said  in  effect :  We  can  always  abuse  Job ; 
we  can  always  make  general  speeches  on  human  depravity,  and 
allow  him  to  appropriate  them  to  himself;  we  can  at  least  suggest 
that  he  has  hidden  under  his  ample  cloak  some  big  black  sin  ;  we 
can  tell  him,  in  varied  expression,  that  all  this  is  but  his  desert ; 
he  has  done  something  to  deserve  this ;  that  must  be  our  weapon ; 
we  must  keep  to  that;  we  must  hunt  him  down;  we  must  tell 
him  what  a  villain  he  is.  The  world  has  grown  no  better  by 
such  violent  assault.  The  poor  world  takes  heart  again  when 
we  say  to  it  "  things  are  not  what  they  seem."    It  is  true  there 


176  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxviii. 

is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one ;  but  that  applies  to  us  all ;  there 
is  something  beyond  all  that  we  see ;  by-and-by  it  will  be  re- 
vealed ;  we  are  undergoing  educational  processes,  we  are  being 
pruned  that  we  may  bring  forth  more  fruit ;  all  this  misery, 
sorrow,  necessity,  pain,  death,  has  a  meaning.  Let  us  wait  for  it ; 
it  may  come  at  any  moment ;  no  one  can  tell  when  the  Son  of 
man  will  come — at  midnight,  at  cock-crowing,  or  in  the  full 
noonday;  but  come  he  will,  and  with  him  he  will  bring  the 
books  which  will  clear  up  every  mystery.  Then  we  should 
continue  our  great  speech  and  say,  "In  one  sense,  this  is  a 
little  world ;  in  another  sense,  it  is  a  great  world ;  it  is  to  us 
the  beginning  of  worlds,  the  first  step  upon  a  staircase  infinite. 
Get  your  foot  Well  upon  the  first  step,  then  the  rest  will  come 
with  comparative  ease.  Thou  knowest  not  what  a  day  may  bring 
forth;  at  any  moment  you  may  pass  into  a  new  world;  to- 
morrow we  may  wake  in  heaven.  We  need,  therefore,  more 
cheerfulness;  and  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  emphatically  a 
cheerful  word;  it  comes  to  the  heart  like  music  in  the  night 
time.  We  know  what  it  is  to  sit  in  great  desolation,  and  to 
hear  a  footfall  on  the  stair  which  we  recognise  as  the  step  of  a 
strong  friend.  When  he  comes  in  he  seems  to  bring  with  him 
new  breath,  new  hope ;  whilst  he  tarries  in  the  room  we  shall 
not  be  afraid  of  death  ;  yea,  we  feel  if  he  were  present  we  could 
die  happily ;  his  very  nearness  would  give  us  courage.  Knowing 
this  socially,  we  also  know  it  rehgiously:  given  a  heart  that 
is  sure  of  the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  to  comfort  and  sustain, 
and  death  is  abolished,  the  grave  is  no  longer  deep  and  cold, — 
it  is  as  a  vase  filled  with  flowers  from  heaven's  paradise.  It 
is  useless,  therefore,  merely  to  denounce  the  sin  of  the  world ; 
it  is  aggravating  to  have  nothing  to  say  to  the  world  but  that 
which  is  of  the  nature  of  denunciation.  The  world  has  been 
well  cursed  by  its  brilliant  Carlyles ;  it  needs  now  to  be  blessed 
and  comforted  by  its  more  brilliant  evangelists. 

How  wonderfully  well  the  three  comforters  painted  the  portrait 
of  wickedness  !  Nothing  can  be  added  to  their  delineation  of  sin. 
Every  touch  is  the  touch  of  a  master.  If  you  would  see  what 
wickedness  is,  read  the  speeches  which  are  delivered  in  the  Book 
of  Job.     Nothing,  let  us  say  again,  can  be  added  to  their  grim 


Jobxviii.]    THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD,  i;; 

truthfulness.  But  there  is  a  great  danger  about  this  :  there  is 
a  danger  that  men  may  make  a  trade  of  denouncing  wickedness. 
There  is  also  a  danger  that  men  may  fall  into  a  mere  habit  of 
making  prayers.  This  is  the  difficulty  of  all  organised  and  official 
spiritual  life.  It  is  a  danger  which  we  cannot  set  aside;  it  is 
indeed  a  peril  we  can  hardly  modify  :  but  there  is  a  horrible 
danger  in  having  to  read  the  Bible  at  an  appointed  hour,  to  offer  a 
prayer  at  a  given  stroke  of  the  clock,  and  to  assemble  for  worship 
upon  a  public  holiday.  But  all  this  seems  to  be  unavoidable ; 
the  very  spirit  of  order  requires  it ;  there  must  be  some  law  of 
consent  and  fellowship ;  otherwise  public  worship  would  be 
impossible  :  but  consider  the  tremendous  effect  upon  the  man 
who  has  to  conduct  that  worship !  The  men  to  be  most  pitied 
in  all  this  wide  world  are  preachers  of  the  gospel.  We  are 
aware  that  there  is  another  side,  and  that  the  men  who  are  most 
to  be  envied  in  this  world  are  also  preachers  of  the  gospel; 
still  it  is  a  terrible  thing  to  have  to  denounce  sin  every  Sunday 
twice  at  least ;  it  is  enough  to  ruin  the  soul  to  be  called  upon  to 
utter  holy  words  at  mechanical  periods.  The  necessity  is  great, 
the  necessity  is  tremendous ;  but  may  we  not  become  familiar 
with  such  words  as  "  God,"  "  truth,"  ''  love,"  "  Christ,"  "  purity  "  ? 
On  the  other  hand,  there  are  times  when  all  these  words  shine 
upon  us  like  new  suns,  and  for  all  the  worlds  of  God's  universe 
we  would  not  give  up  the  joy  of  living  under  the  influence  of 
such  words  and  answering  all  their  music.  Could  we  know 
what  men  have  to  pass  through  who  teach  us  we  should  be  more 
lenient  with  them  and  get  nearer  to  them  with  abundance  of 
sympathy  and  prayer.  Who  can  preach  twice  on  one  day? 
Who  can  have  his  heart  torn  out  of  him  regularly  morning  and 
evening.  Sabbath  by  Sabbath  ?  We  need  the  ministry  of  silence ; 
we  need  the  blessedness  of  sitting  down  sometimes  in  absolute 
speechlessness.  That  we  might  do,  and  fix  the  day  and  the 
time  and  the  place  for  silence,  but  not  for  speech ;  then  if  during 
the  holy  silence  the  fire  should  bum  and  the  tongue  should  desire 
to  speak,  who  knows  what  blessedness  might  accrue  ?  But  the 
meaning  of  this  is  that  it  is  possible  to  read  the  Bible  until  we 
read  ourselves  out  of  it, — merely  to  repeat  its  words,  and  not  to 
feel  them  or  to  feel  that  we  ought  to  feel  but  cannot  feel,  and 
that  is  a  consciousness  that  lies  close  by  despair. 

VOL.  XI.  12 


i;8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [JobxviiL 

Punishment  does  not  kill  wickedness,  otherwise  what  Bildad 
has  said  about  it  would  be  concluded  with  a  declaration  that 
wickedness  is  dead.  How  does  Bildad  put  the  case  of  punished 
wickedness  ?  The  light  is  put  out,  the  spark  of  fire  is  destroyed, 
there  is  no  light  in  the  tabernacle;  the  steps  of  strength  are 
straitened ;  his  own  counsel  has  cast  the  man  down  by  leading 
him  into  confusion ;  the  wicked  man's  feet  are  in  a  net,  and  a  gin 
has  taken  hold  of  him  by  the  heel,*  and  the  hand  of  the  robber  is 
throttling  him ;  the  snare  is  laid  for  him  in  the  ground,  and  a 
trap  for  him  in  the  way ;  terrors  like  hobgoblins  laugh  and  chatter 
at  him  from  every  hedge  in  the  night-time,  and  he  is  startled  to 
his  feet  by  new  alarms  when  he  lies  down  to  sleep ;  his  strength 
is  hunger-bitten,  and  destruction  is  standing  at  his  side  ready  to 
open  its  pitiless  jaws  to  devour  him ;  his  skin  has  lost  its  com- 
plexion, and  the  firstborn  of  death  has  devoured  his  power;  his 
confidence  is  dead,  and  he  is  brought  to  the  king  of  terrors :  and 
what  does  he  do?  He  still  sins.  All  this  some  men  have 
proved,  and  they  still  plan  wickedness  for  to-morrow  at  noon 
and  the  day  after  at  midnight.  Brimstone  is  scattered  upon  their 
habitation ;  their  roots  are  dried  up  beneath,  above  their  branch 
is  cut  off;  their  remembrance  is  perished  from  the  earth,  and 
their  name  is  a  loathing  in  the  street :  what  then  ?  They  still 
sin.  They  would  sin  if  God  stood  over  them  visibly  I  How  mad 
is  sin !  What  can  tame  the  tiger-heart  ?  What  can  get  at  it  in 
one  brief  hour  of  confidence  ?  A  man  will  sell  his  children  if 
they  stand  in  the  way  of  his  wicked  desires.  Yea,  a  man  will 
defy  the  spirit  of  self- slaughter  in  order  to  reach  that  one  damned 
object,  and  all  God's  white  angels  could  not  keep  him  back.  He 
knows  what  will  come.  Tell  him  that  if  he  pursue  this  course 
his  wife  will  be  broken-hearted,  his  children  will  be  blighted,  his 
home  will  be  shattered,  his  fire  will  be  put  out,  the  old,  old  days 
of  love  will  never  be  revived ;  everybody  will  shoot  out  the  lip  in 
scorn,  and  his  very  name  shall  be  a  byword  :  what  will  he  do  ? 
He  will  look  as  if  he  listened,  and  then  he  will  take  a  leap  into 
the  arms  of  the  devil  I  Such  is  the  state  of  things.  We  are  not 
haif-respectable  bad  men  ;  we  are  not  gone  in  little  fragments  and 
sections  of  our  nature ;  we  would  kill  the  fairest  child  that  ever 

*  See  note  on  next  page. 


Jobxviii.]    THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD,  179 

kissed  our  cheek  rather  than  not  do  the  thing  our  heart  is  set 
upon.  Can  this  case  be  met  by  little  theories,  human  inventions, 
novel  propositions,  untried  and  unintelligible  philosophies?  If  a- 
man  will  take  his  fair-haired  child,  as  it  were,  by  the  throat  and 
throw  it  away,  so  that  he  may  get  at  the  devil's  table,  is  there 
any  philosophy  in  creation  which  he  would  not  clear  from  his 
path  in  order  to  reach  his  destination  ?  What,  then,  is  to  be 
done  ?  There  is  only  one  thing  to  be  done,  and  if  that  fail  God 
fails.  There  is  only  one  thing  that  touches  the  case  at  its  centre, 
and  that  one  thing  is  the  redeeming  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
mystery  of  the  cross,  the  grace  of  the  atonement, — easy  enough 
to  ask  perplexing  questions  about,  and  not  difficult  to  contemn 
and  reject;  but  it  is  the  only  thing  that  can  touch  the  case.  The 
sun  is  the  only  light  that  can  glorify  the  earth,  and  yet  nothing 
can  be  shut  out  so  easily ;  a  child  has  but  to  close  its  eyelids,  and 
the  sun  is  gone.  So  a  man  has  but  to  say — I  do  not  believe 
thee,  thou  bleeding,  dying  Christ,  and  the  whole  blessedness  of 
the  cross  is  lost.  On  the  other  hand,  a  man  has  but  to  open  his 
eyes,  and  the  sun  seems  to  have  been  made  for  him,  and  to  be 
all  his.  A  man  has  but  to  say,  "  Lord,  I  believe,  help  thou  mine 
unbelief,"  and  Satan  falls  before  him  as  if  lightning-struck.  The 
devil  knows  that  word,  and  hates  it. 


NOTE. 

The  act  of  taking  birds  by  means  of  nets,  snares,  decoys,  etc.,  is  frequently 
alluded  to  in  Scripture,  mostly  in  a  figurative  and  moral  way.  Birds  of 
various  kinds  abound,  and  no  doubt  abounded,  in  ancient  times  in  Palestine. 
Dean  Stanley  speaks  of  "  countless  birds  of  all  kinds,  aquatic  fowls  by  the 
lake  side,  partridges  and  pigeons  hovering,  as  on  the  Nile  bank,  over  the 
rich  plains  of  Genesareth"  {Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  427).  The  capture  of 
these  for  the  table  or  other  uses,  would,  we  might  expect,  form  the 
employment  of  many  persons,  and  lead  to  the  adoption  of  various  methods 
to  effect  it.  Hence  we  read  of  the  **  snare,"  Ps.  xci.  3,  cxxiv.  7 ;  Hos.  ix.  8 : 
and  of  the  "net,"  Prov.  i.  17;  Hos.  vii.  ii  :  "of  the  fowler"  or  snarer. 
In  Hos.  V.  I,  both  net  and  snare  are  mentioned  together.  The  mokesh 
is  used  synonj'mously  with  ^acA,  Amos  iii.  5.  This  was  employed  for  taking 
either  beasts  or  birds.  It  was  a  trap  set  in  the  path,  Prov.  vii.  23,  xxii.  5  ; 
or  hidden  on  or  in  the  ground  Ps.  cxl.  6,  cxliii.  4.  The  form  of  this  springe 
or  trap  net,  appears  from  two  passages — Amos  iii.  5,  and  Ps.  Ixix.  23.  It 
was  in  two  parts,  which,  when  set,  were  spread  out  upon  the  ground,  and 
slightly  fastened  with  a  stick  (trap-stick),  so  that  as  soon  as  a  bird  or  beast 
touched  the  stick,  the  parts  flew  up  and  inclosed  the  bird  in  the  net,  or 
caught  the  foot  of  the  animal.  Thus  Amos  iii.  5,  "  Doth  a  bird  fall  into  a 
snare  upon  the  ground,  when  there  is  no  trap-stick  for  her  ?  doth  the 
snare  spring  from  the  ground  and  take  nothing  at  all?  i.e.,  coc;  anything 
happen  without  a  cause?" — Kitto's  Cyclopcedia  of  Biblical  Literature. 


Chapter  xix. 
JOB'S  REPLY  TO  THE  SECOND  SPEECH  OF  BILDAD. 

THE  patriarch  touched  the  reality  of  the  case  when  he 
described  the  speeches  which  had  been  addressed  to  him 
as  "  words,"  saying,  *'  How  long  will  ye  vex  my  soul,  and  break 
me  in  pieces  with  words  ?  "  (v.  2.)  Words  are  different  in  their 
meaning  according  to  the  difference  of  the  tone  in  which  they 
are  uttered.  Every  speaker  should  be  heard  in  his  own  per- 
sonality, and  hardly  any  one  who  has  not  heard  him  should  be 
entrusted  with  the  pronunciation  of  his  words.  You  may  take 
the  meaning  out  of  a  letter  of  love ;  you  may  turn  the  Bible 
itself  into  a  mere  gathering  up  of  words  :  the  heart  is  the  reader, 
and  the  heart  is  the  listener ;  he  who  listens  only  with  his  bodily 
ear  cannot  pay  attention  ;  the  heart  must  be  on  the  alert,  the 
spirit  must  be  alive.  Has  not  the  Church  too  long  dealt  in  the 
useless  medicine  of  words  ?  Has  not  the  Church  indeed  often 
been  the  victim  of  phrases  that  are  now  obsolete  ?  Is  it  not  time 
to  adopt  the  language  of  the  current  day  and  to  serve  up  the 
wine  of  the  Gospel  in  goblets  which  people  prefer  ?  The  wine 
will  be  the  same,  and  the  bread  from  the  heart  of  Christ  charged 
with  the  elements  of  immortal  health.  Why  insist  upon  always 
adopting  the  same  words  and  being  bound  by  the  same  formu- 
laries ?  Why  not  rather  consider  the  reality  and  vitality  of  the 
case,  and  subordinate  everything  to  the  supreme  purpose  of 
bringing  men  back  from  ways  forbidden,  and  setting  their 
wandering  feet  in  roads  that  lie  upwards  toward  the  sky  ?  But 
Job  might  have  pitied  the  men  if  they  had  confessed  that  they 
were  uttering  only  words.  A  speaker  draws  to  himself  our  con- 
fidence when  he  assures  us  that  he  would  do  better  if  he  could. 
The  moment  the  speaker  says,  I  am  aware  that  I  cannot  go 
the  whole  distance  covered  by  this  necessity,  but  I  will  tell  you 


Jobxix.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  BILDAD,  i8i 

all  I  know  ;  I  will  offer  you  the  advantage  of  my  own  experience  ; 
if  you  care  to  accept  such  brotherly  sympathy  and  guidance,  I 
shall  be  thankful ;  but  I  am  well  aware  that  when  all  my  words 
have  been  uttered  there  lies  beyond  a  pain  I  cannot  touch,  a 
necessity  I  cannot  satisfy, — to  such  a  man  we  listen,  we  repay 
him  with  our  gratitude,  because  we  know  he  would  have  done 
more  if  he  could,  that  he  only  ceased  because  he  was  conscious 
he  had  nothing  more  to  deliver  by  way  of  helpful  message.  But 
Job's  friends  were  not  so;  they  spoke  out  all  their  words  as 
if  they  were  all  the  words  that  could  be  spoken ;  hence  Job 
reproves  them  thus:— "Ye  are  not  ashamed  that  ye  make 
yourselves  strange  to  me  "  (v.  3).  If  you  blushed  with  shame, 
I  could  forgive  you ;  if  you  halted  or  faltered  in  your  poor 
message,  I  should  pity  you,  and  believe  you  up  to  a  given  point ; 
but  ye  are  proud,  self-conscious,  loaded  with  vanity,  and  ye 
stand  before  me  as  if  ye  were  the  men,  and  wisdom  would  die 
with  you.  The  Church  ought  to  be  ashamed  when  it  separates 
itself  from  the  necessities  of  the  world.  The  Church  must  not 
be  allowed  to  luxuriate  and  philosophise  and  poetise  and  dream 
as  if  it  were  doing  God's  holy  service.  The  world  is  a  dying 
world,  and  all  messages  delivered  to  it  must  be  accommodated 
to  its  weakness,  or  must  be  measured  out  in  their  energy 
according  to  the  pressure  of  the  exigency.  But  the  Church  has 
separated  itself  from  the  world ;  made  itself  strange  to  the 
world  ;  has  adopted  a  language  of  its  own ;  might  indeed  have 
a  dictionary  peculiarly  belonging  to  itself; — all  this  is  mis- 
chievous, all  this  is  anti- Christian  :  the  Church  should  speak 
the  language  of  the  whole  world,  and  should  breathe  a  spirit 
which  all  men  can  understand.  Sad  beyond  all  sadness  is  it 
that  the  Church  has  made  a  profession  of  the  great  word 
Theology!  Sad  that  men  should  be  examined  in  Epictetus, 
when  they  ought  to  be  examined  in  the  condition  of  the  next 
slum  I  Unpardonable  that  men  should  be  qualified  in  the 
classics,  and  know  nothing  about  the  state  of  the  men,  women, 
and  children  dying  around  the  very  environs  of  the  Church. 
If  the  one  should  be  done  the  other  should  not  be  left  undone. 
It  was  said  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  the  great  agitator  and  the  great 
leader,  "  Other  orators  studied  rhetoric,  Daniel  O'Connell  studied 
man."    That  is  what  the  Church  must  do ;  then  the  Church  will 


i82  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxix. 

no  longer  make  itself  strange  to  the  people,  but  it  will  sit 
down  beside  them,  and  talk  about  the  debt  th^t  cannot  be 
paid,  the  illness  that  is  hard  to  bear,  the  prodigal  son  who 
is  far  away,  and  will  converse  upon  all  the  heart-break  that 
makes  up  life's  daily  tragedy :  who  then  will  be  so  welcome  to 
the  family  circle  as  the  minister  of  Christ,  the  gentle,  gracious, 
genial,  tender  soul,  the  outgoing  of  whose  breath  is  like  the 
outgoing  of  a  benediction  ?  We  do  not  want  men  to  stand 
apart  from  us  and  talk  at  us ;  the  world  needs  men  who 
understand  it,  and  will  come  down  to  it,  or  go  up  to  it;  who 
will  confess  all  that  is  good,  really  or  apparently,  in  it,  and 
then  begin  the  mighty  and  redeeming  work  which  is  associated 
with  the  name  of  Christ.  In  this  way  the  Church  will  reclaim 
a  great  deal  of  property.  When  men  say  they  are  Agnostics, 
the  Church  will  say.  So  am  I.  The  Church  is  the  very  place 
for  Agnostics — for  men  who  know  nothing,  but  who  are  perfectly 
willing  to  know  all  that  can  be  known.  A  man  who  calls  himself 
an  Agnostic  and  shuts  all  the  windows,  and  bars  all  the  doors,  and 
lives  in  the  darkness  he  creates,  is  not  an  Agnostic — he  is  a 
fool.  We  know  nothing,  but  we  want  to  know  so  much  ;  we  are 
very  ignorant,  but  we  put  out  our  hand  like  a  prayer;  we 
can  answer  few  questions,  and  oftentimes  the  answer  is  as  great 
a  mystery  as  the  original  enigma :  still,  we  grope,  and  inquire, 
and  hope,  for  at  any  moment  all  heaven  may  come  down  to  rest 
with  us,  and  give  us  peace.  We  cannot,  therefore,  allow  the 
Agnostics  to  form  themselves  into  a  body,  peculiar  and  distinct 
from  the  Christian  Church ;  we  claim  them  all,  in  so  far  as  they 
are  reverent,  self-renouncing,  and  docile.  When  men  say 
they  are  Secularists,  the  Church  should  say.  So  am  I.  You 
cannot  go  off  on  that  ground.  In  short,  we  give  the  enemy  all 
his  points,  and  then  demolish  him  as  an  antagonist.  The  great 
heaven  of  truth  lies  beyond  all  the  prickly  fences  which  men 
have  planted,  and  in  which  they  take  an  unspeakable  and 
unwholesome  pride. 

Now  Job  will  talk  another  language.  He  has  found  that  there 
is  a  great  gulf  between  him  and  his  friends ;  they  are  friends  no 
longer  in  the  c^epest  sense  of  the  word.  He  is  my  friend  who 
knows  my  soul,  and  can  say  to  me  with  sweet  frankness,  You 


Jobxix.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  BILDAD.       ^^j^4»3 

are  wrong;  stop  that;  turn  round.  Or,  otherwise,  You  are 
right;  stand  to  it;  play  the  man;  be  courageous;  do  not  be 
laughed  down  or  talked  down.  The  time  will  come  when 
friendship  will  be  re-defined  ;  then  he  will  be  the  true  friend 
who  knows  most  of  the  soul,  the  thought,  the  purpose,  and  the 
right  way  of  doing  things,  the  royal  road  to  life  and  joy. 

JWhatj_t^ien,  is  Job's  new  position  ?  He  assumes  it  in  the 
sixth  verse  : — "  Know  now  that  God  hath  overthrown  me,  and 
hath  compassed  me  with  his  net."  Now  he  will  be  a  better 
man.  He  has  turned  away  from  human  comforters  :  he  has 
ventured  to  pronounce  the  right  word,  that  word  being  God,-^ 
as  if  he  said.  Now  I  know  who  made  this  wound ;  God  made 
it :  now  I  understand  who  has  taken  away  all  my  children  and 
all  my  property ;  God  has  taken  them  :  I  should  have  said  so 
theoretically.  Job  might  have  continued,  But  now  I  know  it 
experimentally  ;  when  the  first  blow  fell  upon  me,  I  said,  ''  The 
Lord  hath  taken  away,"  but  I  did  not  know  that  truth  then  as 
I  know  it  now, — then  I  uttered  it  as  part  of  a  creed,  but  now  I 
declare  it  as  the  sum-total  of  my  faith.  Thus  Job  was  driven 
back  upon  the  truth  by  the  emptiness  of  human  interpretation. 
So  many  men  have  been  driven  to  God  by  incompetent  teachers ; 
the  needy  souls  have  listened  to  the  word  that  was  spoken,  and 
they  have  said,  No  :  that  is  not  it,  that  is  mere  cortiposition ;  that 
is  mere  make-up  of  words  and  phrases ;  the  speaker  seemed  to 
be  afraid  of  his  subject,  and  did  not  tell  all  that  was  in  him  in 
the  common  open  speech  of  the  time  :  now  I  must  go  to  God  face 
to  face,  and  make  the  whole  of  my  experience  known  to  him,  and 
we  must  talk  it  out  together  in  awful  solitude. 

See  from  Job's  description,  beginning  at  the  seventh  verse  and 
going  onward,  what  God  can  do  to  man,  or  permit  to  be  done. 
"  He  hath  fenced  up  my  way  that  I  cannot  pass  : "  yet  the  road 
seems  open  enough.  That  is  the  difficulty.  We  say  to  some 
men,  Why  do  you  not  go  forward  ?  And  they  reply.  My  way  is 
fenced  up  so  that  I  cannot  pass ;  and  we  ridicule  the  idea ;  we 
say.  There  is  no  fence  :  what  mania  is  this,  what  foolish  delusion  ? 
the  road  is  wide  open,  pass  on  I  But  every  man  sees  his  own 
road   as   no   other   man   can   see    it.     Every  traveller  on  life's 


i84  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxix. 

perilous  journey  sees  lights,  images,  fences,  boundaries,  which  no 
other  traveller  can  see  in  just  the  same  way.  Is  not  God  doing 
this  in  reahty  ?  Our  answer  must  be  a  decided  affirmative.  We 
know  there  are  things  we  cannot  do,  and  yet  there  seems  to  be 
absolutely  no  obstruction  in  the  way  of  our  doing  them.  What 
is  this  which  makes  a  man  unable  to  reach  just  one  inch  farther  ? 
Is  there  some  one  at  the  end  of  his  arm  taunting  him,  saying. 
Reach  higher  :  you  ought  to  be  able  to  do  so  ?  Is  there  some 
sprite  that  laughs  at  our  limitation  ?  There,  however,  is  the 
fact  of  the  boundary.  We  come  to  a  given  point,  and  say,  Why 
not  go  ten  points  higher?  That  the  sea  has  been  asking  in 
every  rolling  billow  which  ventured  on  the  shore,  and  the  answer 
was:  "Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther."  Who  is  it 
that  speaks  that  limiting  word  ?  What  voice  is  it  that  says,  I 
have  set  the  boundaries,  and  no  man  may  trespass  them? 
This  we  could  dismiss  as  a  theory  if  we  could  get  rid  of  it  as 
a  fact.  Then  again  :  "  He  hath  stripped  me  of  my  glory,  and 
taken  the  crown  from  my  head."  Can  a  man  not  keep  on  the 
diadem  by  laying  his  hands  upon  it?  No.  You  cannot  bind  the 
diadem  to  your  brow  when  God  has  meant  to  take  it  off,  and 
leave  you  bereaved  of  every  aureole  and  halo,  and  sign  of  glory. 
Then  again  :  "  He  hath  destroyed  me  on  every  side,  and  I  am 
gone."  Is  not  that  true  of  life?  We  are  not  able  to  do  the 
things  we  wished  to  do,  and  we  cannot  tell  why.  We  are  not 
always  conscious  of  this  loss  of  personal  power  :  "  Grey  hairs  are 
here  and  there  upon  him,  yet  he  knoweth  not ; "  decay  comes  on 
imperceptibly;  we  are  destroyed  on  every  side;  we  used  to 
?peak  authoritatively,  and  now  we  have  to  make  requests;  the 
royal  voice  has  gone  down  into  a  whisper  that  cannot  be  heard ; 
the  power  that  never  tired  is  now  unconscious  of  energy.  What 
is  this  ?  Call  if  '*  law  of  nature."  You  have  not  explained  the 
mystery.  What  is  "  law "  ?  What  is  *'  nature  "  ?  Why  not 
rather  face  the  fact  that  after  a  given  point  in  life  we  go  down  ? 
Why  not  say.  It  is  with  life  as  with  the  clock — once  twelve  is 
struck,  the  rest  is  after  noon  ?  Truly  it  is  a  law.  If  it  came  and 
went  and  varied  its  operations,  we  should  call  it  a  whim,  a  play 
of  haphazard,  a  variety  of  fortune;  but  it  comes  so  subtly, 
proceeds  so  steadily,  moves  so  silently  and  majestically,  and  has 
everything  its  own  wn^\     "^hev  w'>o  wish  to  be  contrnt  with  the 


Jobxix.]  yOB'S  REPLY  TO  BILDAD,  185 

word  "  law,"  are  content  to  live  upon  ice ;  they  who  say,  "  This 
is  the  law  of  the  living  God,"  feed  upon  the  bread  of  life.  Then 
again :  "  I  called  my  servant,  and  he  gave  me  no  answer ;  I 
entreated  him  with  my  mouth  : "  I  am  thrown  down  into 
contempt;  my  words  come  back  again  upon  me.  Yet  man 
thought  he  could  be  as  God.  There  is  a  mounting  time  in  life, 
an  upgoing  time,  when  we  say.  All  the  rest  is  ascension.  But 
suddenly  we  find  that  the  rest  is  going  down,  passing  along  the 
other  part  of  the  circle.  We  cannot  go  beyond  a  certain  point. 
To-day  those  are  masters  who  yesterday  were  servants;  to- 
morrow they  will  be  servants  who  to-day  are  masters.  This  is 
how  God  keeps  society  in  some  measure  sweet.  There  is  a 
self-adjusting  power  in  society.  Aristocracies  come  for  a  day 
when  they  come  aright,  and  no  man  is  an  aristocrat  to-day 
because  his  father  was  one  yesterday.  The  Son  of  man  shall 
come,  and  men  will  be  valued  for  what  they  are,  and  can  do,- 
and  they  will  go  down  and  go  up,  and  thus  society  will  be  kept 
in  motion  :  the  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  shall  be  first — not 
by  the  operation  of  any  arbitrary  law,  but  just  to  sweeten  and 
fraternise  the  world. 

Job  turns  back  to  his  friends  and  says  :  "  Have  pity  upon  me, 
have  pity  upon  me,  O  ye  my  friends ;  for  the  hand  of  God  hath 
touched  me"  (v.  21),  We  must' be  just,  to  the  friends.  How 
do  we  know  what  action  God  has  permitted  to  take  place  upon 
the  minds  of  the  three  comforters  ? ,.  May  not  God  have  said. 
Hitherto  shall  ye  come,  but  no  farther;  I  will  touch  you,  as  well 
as  touch  Job ;  I  will  bring  you  to  intellectual  poverty  that  ye 
may  cry  unto  me  as  ye  have  never  cried  before ;  I  will  riddle 
your  wisdom  through  and  through,  so  that  it  shall  be  useless  to 
you  ;  I  will  make  you  as  men  who  are  trying  to  draw  water  with 
a  sieve  ?  God  does  a  great  deal  of  collateral  work.  The  whole 
of  his  action  may  not  exercise  itself  in  the  personality  of  Job ; 
the  whole  outlying  world  may  be  touched  by  the  mystery  of 
Job's  education.  We  ought  to  learn  something  from  great 
sufierers ;  and  we  ought  to  learn  something  about  prayer  from 
the  pointlessness  of  our  own.  When  we  utter  the  prayer  and 
receive  no  answer,  we  should  fix  ourselves  upon  the  prayer  and 
say.  The  fault  is  there.     Instead  whereof  we  have  fixed  ourselves 


i86  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxix. 

upon  the  answer  and  said,  Behold  the  inutility  of  prayer.     "  Ye 
have  not,  because  ye  ask  not,  or  because  ye  ask  amiss." 

Now  we  see  how  to  agony  we  are  indebted  for  many  a  bright 
word.     Suddenly  Job  exclaims  : — 

X^  "  For  I  know  that  my  redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter 
<^  day  upon  the  earth :  and  though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body, 

/  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God ;  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine 
C      eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another"  (vv.  25-27).. 

There  is  no  need  to  push  these  words  too  far.  We  lose  a  great 
deal  by  attempting  to  find  in  a  passage  like  this  what  in  reality 
is  not  in  it.  Suppose  that  Job  is  referring  to  the  Goel,  the  elder 
brother  of  the  family,  whose  business  it  was  to  redeem,  and 
protect,  and  lead  onward  to  liberty — suppose  that  this  is  an 
Oriental  image,  that  is  no  reason  for  saying  that  it  is  nothing 
more.  There  have  been  unconscious  prophecies;  men  have 
uttered  words,  not  knowing  what  they  were  uttering;  thus 
Caiaphas  said  to  the  council,  **  Ye  know  nothing  at  all,  nor 
consider  that  it  is  expedient  for  us,  that  one  man  should  die  for 
the  people,  and  that  the  whole  nation  perish  not,"  not  knowing 
himself  what  he  said.  We  must  allow  for  the  unconscious 
region  of  life,  the  mysterious  belt  that  is  round  about  so-called 
facts  and  letters;  we  must  allow  for  that  purple  horizon,  so 
visible,  so  inaccessible.  He  would  be  an  unwise  teacher  who 
said  Job  knew  all  that  we  understand  by  Christ,  Resurrection, 
and  Immortality ;  but  he  would  be  unwiser  still  who  said  that 
when  his  soul  had  been  wrought  up  to  this  high  pitch  of  enthu- 
siasm in  the  ardour  of  his  piety  he  knew  nothing  of  the  coming 
glory.  Let  Job  speak  literally,  and  even  then  he  leaves  a  margin. 
Here  we  find  a  man  at  the  utmost  point  of  human  progress; 
figure  him  to  the  eye ;  say  the  progress  of  the  world,  or  the 
education  of  the  world,  is  a  long  mysterious  process  ;  and  here, 
behold,  is  a  man  who  has  come  to  the  uttermost  point :  one  step 
farther  and  he  will  fall  over  :  there  however  he  stands  until 
vacuity  is  filled  up,  until  vaticination  becomes  experience,  until 
experience  has  become  history,  until  history,  again,  by  marvellous 
spiritual  action,  shapes  itself  into  prophecy,  and  predicts  a 
brighter  time  and  a  fairer  land.  There  have  been  men  who 
have  stood  on  the  headlines  of  history :  they  dare  not  take  one 


Jobxix.]  JOB'S  REPLY  TO  BILDAD.  187 

more  step,  or  they  would  be  lost  in  the  boundless  sea.  Thus 
the  world  has  been  educated  and  stimulated  by  seer,  and  dreamer, 
and  prophet,  and  teacher,  and  apostle.  There  have  never  been 
men  wanting  who  have  been  at  the  very  forefront  of  things, 
living  the  weird,  often  woeful,  sometimes  rapturous,  life  of  the 
prophet.  What  was  a  dream  to  Job  is  a  reality  to  us.  We 
can  fill  up  all  Job  would  have  said  had  he  lived  in  our  day; 
now  we  can  say — I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that 
he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth.  When  these 
words  are  sung,  do  not  think  they  are  the  words  of  Job  that 
are  being  sung;  they  are  Job's  words  with  Chnst's  meaning. 
Yes,  we  feel  that  there  must  be  a  "  Redeemer."  Things  are  so 
black  and  wrong,  so  corrupt,  so  crooked,  so  wholly  unimaginable, 
with  such  a  seam  of  injustice  running  through  all,  that  there 
must  be  a  Goel,  a  Firstborn,  an  elder  Brother,  a  Redeemer.  It 
is  the  glory  of  the  Christian  faith  to  proclaiPii  the  personality 
and  reality  of  this  Redeemer.  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  almightiness  of  God,  the  very  omnipotence 
of  the  Trinity,  to  everyone  that  believeth.  "God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Nor 
can  we  consent  to  change  his  name  :  what  word  sweeter  than 
"Redeemer"?  what  word  mightier?  A  poem  in  itself;  an 
apocalypse  in  its  possibilities  ;  divine  love  incarnated.  Oh,  come 
thou  whose  right  it  is  1  "Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom, 
with  dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ?  this  that  is  glorious  in  his 
apparel,  travelling  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength  ?  I  that  speak 
in  righteousness,  mighty  to  save."  That  same  Son  of  Mary, 
Son  of  man.  Son  of  God.     Accept  him  as  thy  Redeemer  I 


Chapter  zz. 
AN  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OP  WICKEDNESS. 

ZOPHAR  was  in  a  great  tumult  of  mind  when  he  made  this 
closing  speech.  He  was  determined  to  end  with  commina- 
tion,  and  sound  of  storm  and  ruin.  Probably  there  is  no  such 
chapter  in  all  the  sacred  canon.  Zophar  did  not  know  where 
to  begin,  nor  could  he  connect  his  senses  well  together  for  a  little 
time;  he  made  haste,  without  progress;  he  went  forward,  and 
came  back  again  :  but  once  fairly  started  he  never  lost  his  feet; 
he  grew  in  power  of  denunciation  ;  the  spark  at  last  burned  like 
an  oven.  It  is  interesting  to  go  back  thousands  of  years,  and  to 
ascertain  what  was  thought  of  wicked  men  at  that  early  period  in 
the  world's  history.  Have  we  improved  in  our  conception  of 
wickedness  ?  According  to  some  authorities,  the  Book  of  Job 
was  written  by  Moses,*  There  is  a  general  consensus  of  opinion 
that  it  is  a  production  of  the  patriarchal  age.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly written  before  the  giving  of  the  law,  as  it  came  by 
Moses ;  for  there  is  not  in  the  whole  poem  a  single  reference  to 
Mosaic  legislation.  It  is  helpful  to  bear  this  in  mind,  because  it 
assists  us  to  fix  the  time  of  the  authorship,  and  if  that  time  was 
very  remote  how  interesting  is  the  question,  What  was  thought 
of  wickedness  then  ?  Was  it  treated  as  youthful,  as  a  mere 
exhibition  of  inexperience,  an  unexpected  variation  of  human 
conduct  ?  or  were  the  early  ages  well  instructed  in  morals,  having 
large  and  clear  view  of  conduct,  motive,  and  issue  of  Hfe  ?  Awful 
is  the  thought  that  wickedness,  disobedience — call  it  by  what 
name  we  may — was  at  the  first  treated  like  an  old  enormity. 
The  law  of  penalty  did  not  grow  from  little  to  more,  from  more 
to  much ;  the  law  of  penalty  began  where  the  law  of  penalty  will 
end ;  it  began  in  death,  and  in  death  it  terminates.  All  penalty 
is  of  the  nature  of  death.  Whoever  receives  one  stroke  upon  his 
body  for  wrong  done  dies, — not  in  the  obvious  and  literal  sense 

•  See  note,  post,  p.  196. 


Jobxx.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS.   189 

of  giving  up  the  ghost  and  being  buried  in  a  grave ;  that  is  a 
narrow  and  unworthy  conception  of  death  ;  that  is  how  dogs  die. 
Every  child  set  in  the  corner  in  chastisement  dies.  Would  God 
we  could  recover  that  idea !  It  might  make  us  sometimes 
thoughtful,  solemn,  and  take  out  of  all  punishment  the  idea  ot 
frivolity.  Said  the  Lord  God,  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Men  have  thought  that  the 
utterance  meant  in  effect,  thou  shalt  drop  down  dead  ;  thou  shalt 
be  a  dead  body,  and  none  shall  live  to  dig  .thy  grave;  thou  shalt 
rot  in  the  hot  sands,  and  be  a  pestilence  in  the  air.  Nothing  ot 
the  kind.  When  you  uttered  one  forbidden  word  you  died.  We 
are  all  dead  men.  If  we  live  it  is  by  the  miracle  of  grace. 
''  You  hath  he  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 
We  lose  much  by  too  scrupulous  a  literalness.  We  say,  Adam 
did  not  fall  down  dead  ;  he  lived  ;  he  was  turned  out  of  Paradise, 
and  he  became  the  father  of  the  human  race ;  he  did  not  die.  So 
talking  we  are  frivolous,  superficial,  utterly  uninstructed  in  spiritual 
thought  and  purpose.  Man  dies  when  he  does  wrong ;  hidden 
life  is  death.  The  point  of  interest,  however,  in  this  particular 
chapter  relates  to  the  judgment  which  was  formed  of  wickedness 
in  ages  long  gone.  Zrphar  states  the  case  wi'h  extreme  vivacity 
of  language,  with  striking  picturesqueness  of  illustration.  Let 
us  follow  this  frank  speaker  in  all  his  graphic  talk. 

"  Knowest  thou  not  this  of  old,  since  man  was  placed  upon  earth,  that 
the  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short,  and  the  joy  of  the  hypocrite  but  for  a 
moment  ?  "  (vv.  4,  5). 

We  speak  of  Zophar  as  being  old,  and  Zophar  himself  went 
back  upon  the  thousands  of  years  that  had  expired  before  his 
time ;  so  that  from  the  very  first  wickedness  had  a  bad  reputa- 
tion, and  was  doomed  to  early  judgment.  Observe  the  words. 
The  wicked  has  triumphing,  and  the  hypocrite  has  joy :  these 
things  are  allowed.  There  is  great  triumphing  in  wickedness. 
Men  may  become  proud  of  it ;  they  may  laugh  themselves  into 
delight  when  they  view  the  abundance  of  success  which  they  have 
achieved  in  villainy.  Manasseh  was  the  worst  king  of  Judah, 
yet  he  lived  the"  longest :  might  not  he  have  lifted  up  his  head 
and  said  :  They  call  wickedness  death ;  I  have  outlived  all  the 
kings  of  Judah  who  have  tried  to  do  a  little  better  than  their  pre* 
decessors  ?     The  worst  pope  lived  longest  and  died  richest :  might 


190  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxx. 

not  he  have  said  :   There  have  been  simpletons  on  the  throne, 
princes  of  Rome,  that  tried  to  pray;  I  never  tried;  I  muttered 
the  sacred  words,  but  1  took  care  to  let  them  all  fall  into  the  dust 
and  not  to  rise  to  heaven,  and  I  shall  leave  more  property  than 
the   princes    of  the   Tiara    that  went  before   me  ?    There    is   a 
triumphing  in   wickedness.     It   is  possible   for  a  man  to  be  so 
strong  that  he  can  crush  all  weaker  men,  to  put  them  out  of  his 
way    by    oppressive   and    overwhelming   strength.      All   this   is 
admitted  in  the  Scriptures.      And  there  is  joy  in  wrong-doing. 
There  is  a  stolen  laughter ;  there  is  a  fatness  of  prosperity  which 
is  all  put  on  from  the  outside.     Hypocrisy  can  live  in  the  biggest 
house  in  the  terrace.     Wickedness  can  have  hundreds  of  acres 
of  park-land  more  than  righteousness.     Let  it  be  clearly  under- 
stood  that  all   this  is  taken  into  account.     But  what  was  said 
about  it  of  old,  since  man  was  placed  upon  the  earth  ?    When  the 
wicked   were   triumphing   an    invisible   hand   wrote    the   word 
"  short "  upon  all  the  mad  hilarity  :  this  is  but  a  bubble,  a  flash 
of  fire ;  presently  it  will  go  out,  and  nothing  will  be  left  but  the 
smoke  and  an  intolerable  odour.     The   hypocrite  had  joy.     He 
laughed  behind  his  vizor;  he  chuckled  when  men  thought  him 
good ;  he  made  merry  with  them  in  his  heart ;  but  an  invisible 
hand  wrote  upon  that  white  vizor,  ^*  for  a  moment.^'     There  is 
the  drawback  to  wickedness.     A  man  shall  take  to  the  practice  of 
any  form  of  vice,  and  for  the  first  mile  he  shall  gallop.      But 
watch  him.     Why  does  he  not  gallop  the  second  mile  ?     Perhaps 
he  does,  at  least  for  a  furlong  or  two ;  he  may  even  go  into  the 
third  mile,  and  still  his  well-spurred  steed  may  be  flying  through 
the  air.     He  gallops  well,  but,  see,  he  leaps  I     "  Where  is  he  ?  " 
And  the  answer  is,  "  Where  is  he  ?  "     There  is  no  road  down 
there ;  at  the  end  of  that  little  path  there  is  a  smoking,  reeking 
pit.     Such  was  the  repute,  then,  in  which  wickedness  was  held 
of  old,  since  man  was  placed  upon  the  earth. 

Then  again  Zophar  says : — 

"  Though  his  excellency  mount  up  to  the  heavens,  and  his  head  reach  unto 
the  clouas;  yet  he  shall  perish  for  ever  like  his  own  dung:  they  which 
have  seen  him  shall  say,  "Where  is  he  ?  "  (vv.  6,  7.) 

Observe  the  two  parts  of  the  statement.  His  excellency  mounts 
up  to  the  heavens.     There  is  no  mistake  about  this,  men  may 


Job XX.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS,  191 


say,  as  they  look  upon  wickedness  achieving  its  aim  and  wearing 
its  coveted  laurels.  There  are  men  who  have  been  wicked 
who  fill  as  large  a  space  in  history  as  has  been  filled  by  men 
who  have  been  virtuous.  Some  tyrants  have  a  longer  biography 
than  Christ  had.  So  we  are  not  to  judge  anything  before 
the  time.  If  we  look  when  his  excellency  mounts  up  to  the 
heavens,  and  his  head  reaches  unto  the  clouds,  we  shall  form 
a  wrong  judgment  altogether:  the  day  must  be  taken  in  its  com- 
pleteness, and  not  in  any  particular  hour  of  the  circle  through 
which  it  runs.  The  second  part  of  the  statement  has  in  it  the 
word  "  perish."  That  is  the  doom  of  wickedness.  Why  do  we 
try  the  experiment  for  ourselves  when  age  after  age  it  has  been 
tried  and  age  after  age  has  confirmed  the  doom  ?  What  reason 
have  we  to  suppose  that  we  are  abler  men  than  those  who  have 
gathered  together  all  the  resources  of  wickedness,  and  used  them 
all  the  day  round  ?  What  resources  have  we  that  Solomon  had 
not  ?  But  we  need  not  go  to  history  for  a  confirmation  of  the 
doom  ;  that  confirmation  is  within  our  own  hearts.  No  man  ever 
had  any  real  joy  in  ill-gotten  money.  His  money  and  he  never 
were  friends.  They  were  mutually-suspecting  partners.  The 
money  said.  You  have  no  right  to  me,  you  villain  I  and  the  owner 
said,  Not  for  worlds  would  I  let  it  be  known  how  I  got  you 
into  my  possession !  They  have  lived  a  kind  of  made-up  life 
together.  The  bad  man's  unclean  hands  have  chinked  the  gold, 
but  could  get  no  music  out  of  it ;  it  was  the  sweat  of  poverty,  it 
was  the  groan  of  weakness,  it  was  the  price  of  blood.  We  have 
never  done  wrong  but  we  ourselves  have  known  the  meaning  of 
the  word  "  perish."  The  lamp  of  life  has  gone  out ;  as  for  the 
little  lamp  of  self-approval,  it  has  been  crushed  out  by  some 
sudden  and  tremendous  force,  so  that  it  could  never  be  lighted 
again.  We  have  never  done  a  mean  deed  without  being  ashamed 
to  meet  an  honest  neighbour.  What  fantastic  tricks  we  have 
played  in  our  meanness  I  We  have  taken  offence  at  others 
because  we  have  done  wrong  ourselves ;  we  have  become  thin- 
skinned  because  our  conscience  has  given  way,  and  has  followed 
us  like  an  avenging  creditor  demanding  the  uttermost  farthing. 
Then  the  fool's  laugh  has  curled  our  hp ;  then  the  untrue  glad- 
ness has  tried  to  gleam  in  our  eyes :  but  within,  w^hat  a  tumult- 
understanding  slain,  conscience  angry,  love  dead  1     Wickedness  is 


192  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxr 

not  worth  the  doing,  were  it  merely  a  question  of  equivalent 
and  result.     It  tastes  well  in  the  mouth  ;  it  poisons  the  vitals. 

In  the  ninth  verse  Zophar  uses  a  word  which,  put  into  English, 
is  very  familiar  to  us.  The  word  is  "  no  more  " — "  the  eye  also 
which  saw  him  shall  see  him  no  more," — nor  want  to  see  him. 
That  is  the  worst  of  it.  Who  mourns  over  the  loss  of  that 
which  is  not  desired  ?  Why  mourn  we  our  dead  with  long 
lamentation  and  with  rivers  of  tears  ?  Because  we  would  see 
them  again.  No  man  wants  the  wicked-doer  to  come  any  more. 
There  are  some  loved  ones  whom  we  would  like  to  spend  a  day 
with.  Could  they  but  lean  over  heaven's  gate  and  talk  down  to 
us  from  amid  the  glory,  we  should  be  glad  to  see  them.  There 
are  those  who  have  gone  whom  we  should  seek  out  had  we  to 
creep  around  the  circumference  of  the  earth  to  enjoy  the  oppor- 
tunity. But  no  man  wants  the  bad  thinker  and  evil  actor  back 
again.  Let  him  rot  in  his  grave  I  There  are  graves  on  which 
even  children  would  not  plant  a  flower ;  graves  that  never  dry ; 
graves  that  are  soaked,  and  which  the  sun  will  never  bless ;  and 
the  only  epitaph  that  should  be  written  upon  the  cold  stones  is 
— *'  no  more."  What  a  poor  life  is  that  which  ends  in  such 
an  issue  1  The  better  life  is  before  us — the  sweet  possibility 
of  so  living  that  men  will  never  allow  our  names  to  die; 
when  men  think  of  our  names  they  will  straighten  themselves  up 
to  some  new  effort  in  virtue;  when  our  conduct  is  recalled  it 
will  come  upon  the  reviving  memory  like  an  inspiration,  and  we 
shall  be  blessed  for  thoughts  of  mercy  and  for  deeds  of  charity. 
But  suppose  the  wickedness  should  never  be  discovered  ?  That 
is  impossible.  Discovery  is  a  large  word.  It  is  not  to  be  judged 
by  the  letter.  Discovery  comes  in  providences  that  hunt  a  man 
to  death  in  a  thousand  ways.  God's  providences  guard  all  the 
golden  gates,  stand  upon  all  the  hilltops,  watch  with  jealousy  the 
frontier-land,  so  that  there  shall  be  no  crossing ;  and  men  may 
ask,  Why  this  bewilderment,  perplexity ;  why  this  continual 
backd riving,  why  this  impossibility  of  progress  ?  Other  men  pass 
on,  and  we  cannot  advance;  and  when  that  question  is  asked 
seriously,  clear  away  down  in  the  deep  sanctuary  of  the  heart, 
an  angel  will  answer.  This  is  the  black  harvest  of  a  black  seed- 
time.    Blessed  be  God  for  this  punishment.    We  are  kept  right 


Job  XX.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS.   193 


by  penal  statutes.     Were  there  no  punishment,  how  soon  would 
the  world  commit  self-slaughter,  perish,  and  disappear ;  and  the 
bright  stars  all  round  the  belt  of  heaven  would  say.  Where  is 
the  little  earth  ?    The  answer  might  be  :  The  law  of  punishment 
was  suspended, — nay,  abolished ;  men  were  allowed  to  do  what 
they  pleased,  without  any  results  of  a  penal  kind,  and  they  have 
one  and  all  leaped  into  destruction.     How  much  do  we  owe  to  that 
which  we  fear  !     Whilst  it  may  be  wrong  to  preach  so  as  to  excite 
only  the  fears  of  men,  there  is  no  real  preaching,  no  complete 
preaching,  that  omits  any  appeal  that  can  call  men  to  thoughtful- 
ness  or  sober  them  into  gravity  for  a  moment.    Such  preaching  will 
never  be  popular.     Who  likes  to  hear  of  punishment,  of  death,  or 
hell?    Nothing  is  easier  in  the  world  than  to  be  popular,  to  excite 
whole  towns,'  by  telling  lies,  or  tricking  out  the  truth  with  a  vain 
show.    And  were  life's  history  but  so  many  sunny  days,  this  would 
be  easy  and  pleasant ;  but  there  is  an  after-time.     '^  So  thou,  O 
son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of  Israel ; 
therefore  thou  shalt  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth,  and  warn  them 
from  me.     When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  O  wicked  man,  thou 
shalt  surely  die ;  if  thou  dost  not  speak  to  warn  the  wicked  from 
his  way,  that  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity ;  but  his  blood 
will  I  require  at  thine  hand."     That  is    right.     God   must  be 
severe  with   watchmen.     The  law  of  trusteeship   must  be  the 
severest  in  all  the  statutes  of  the  land.     Were  the  preacher  to 
call  you  by  endearing  names,  and  assure  you  of  an  immediate 
heaven,  do  what  you  please,  how  pleasant  the  intercourse  I    How 
joyous  every  occasion  of  meeting !     That  might  be  so  for  a  day 
or  two,  but  '^  the  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short,  and  the  joy 
of  the   hypocrite   but   for   a   moment."      And   the   hypocritical 
preacher  will  have  the  hottest  of  all  hells !     He  never  told  the 
people  the  reality  of  the  case ;  he  had  his  philosophies,  and  his 
theories,  and  his  new  conceptions ;  he  yesterday  hit  upon  a  novel 
hypothesis  by  which  to  set  the  universe  at  a  new  angle,  so  that 
men  saw  it  as  they  never  saw  it  before  :  but  who  made  him  a 
hypothesis-monger  ?     Who  asked   him  to  awake  his  invention, 
when  he  ought  to  have  declared  a  revelation  ?     O  Wickedness, 
thou  hast  a  bad  character  !  thy  reputation  is  ancient  enough,  but 
from  the  first  God's  wolves  have  been  out  upon  thee,  and  they 
will  tear  thee  to  pieces.     "  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and 

VOL.   XI. 


,»-ys."-' 


4p^  ^K     .■■■■'    '     


ic,4  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxx. 

the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  :  and  let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him ;  and  to  our  God,  for  he 
will  abundantly  pardon."  Do  not  be  misled  b}'^  fine-drawn  dis- 
tinctions between  infirmity  and  wickedness.  Whatever  distinc- 
tions are  to  be  drawn,  let  God  draw  them.  As  for  us,  let  us  be 
severe  upon  ourselves.  When  a  man  tries  to  look  at  his  actions 
so  as  to  make  them  as  white  as  possible,  he  is  doing  wrong. 
Self-forgiveness  should  be  impossible.  We  speak  a  great  mystery, 
but  it  touches  the  soul  of  things.  When  the  law  pronounces  a 
man  legally  innocent,  let  him  retire  into  his  conscience,  and  it 
his  conscience  say,  You  have  escaped  because  the  letter  of  the 
law  could  not  touch  you,  but  only  on  that  ground,  let  him  never 
go  out  into  society  again ;  let  him  live  in  the  hell  of  his  own 
remorse.  That  is  the  true  purgatorial  fire.  It  does  not  prevent 
the  heaven  of  God's  forgiveness  beyond,  but  it  is  God  who  alone 
can  forgive  sin — no  man  can  forgive  himself.  The  lie  you  told 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  shall  add  bitterness  to  your  feast  this 
day.  You  need  not  speak  about  it,  or  make  yourself  a  hero  in 
suffering  because  of  it,  or  say,  Behold  how  sensitive  is  my  moral 
nature,  and  how  responsive  to  every  appeal  is  my  conscience  : 
you  can  have  intercourse  with  yourself  within,  and  that  inter- 
course will  often  make  you  hold  down  your  head,  whilst  other 
men  are  holding  up  theirs  and  enjoying  the  feast.  Walk  softly 
all  your  days.  Do  not  imagine  that  this  will  interfere  with  the 
divine  forgiveness ;  and  do  not  imagine  that  it  will  destroy 
another  feeling,  sacred  and  enrapturing,  which  will  come  out  of 
the  consciousness  of  the  divme  forgiveness.  Life  is  a  great 
mystery.  It  is  not  made  up  of  simplicities  which  a  child  can 
handle,  and  enumerate,  and  set  in  regular  order,  as  so  many, 
and  no  more.  Life  is  conflict ;  life  is  self-contradiction  ;  life 
is  torment  with  joy,  and  joy  with  torment.  There  is  a  moral 
memory,  a  conscience  which  is  an  inspired  recollection,  and 
which  says.  Remember  the  hole  of  the  pit  out  of  which  you 
were  digged.  When  men  forget  the  past  they  misinterpret  and 
misapply  the  present. 

Zophar,  then,  was  very  frank  and  distinct  about  the  wicked, 
and  he  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  children  of  the  bad  man 
shall  come  into  an   evil  inheritance.     We  cannot  prevent  this. 


Job  XX.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS,  195 

Here  is  the  fact,  if  the  Bible  were  burned.  Men  talk  about  not 
being  responsible  for  what  another  man  did  long,  long  ago.  Such 
reasoning  is  false,  because  untrue  to  fact,  as  known  amongst 
ourselves,  outside  the  Church.  Why  that  eruption  in  that  man's 
body  ?  Did  he  make  it  ?  No.  Who  made  it  ?  It  has  come  down 
through  ten  generations,  that  same  stigma,  that  same  cruel  signa- 
ture. Why  are  these  people  so  sensitive,  nervous,  fidgetty, 
wanting  in  self-control  ?  what  is  the  matter  with  them  ?  Their 
father  lived  a  life  that  expresses  itself  so  in  his  innocent  little 
children.  They  cannot  bear  this,  and  they  cannot  endure  some- 
thing else,  and  they  are  afraid  and  weak,  fragile,  wanting  in 
robustness  of  nerve  and  thought,  and  all  kinds  of  force.  Why  ? 
Yet  their  father  says  he  has  pursued  a  certain  course  for  forty 
years,  and  never  felt  the  worse  for  it.  What  a  fool's  boast  1 
Would  he  but  look  at  his  children  he  would  see  that  he  has 
made  them  suffer  for  it.  This  is  not  in  the  Bible,  this  is  not 
a  theological  doctrine  made  by  the  priests  and  foisted  upon 
society  by  the  tricksters  of  the  pulpit;  this  is  reality.  With 
such  realities  before  us,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  we  may 
to-day  be  suffering  because  long  ages  since  a  man  broke  loose 
from  God's  altar  and  forgot  to  pay  God's  tribute.  We  are  not 
dissociated  individuals,  each  having  his  own  individuality,  his 
own  eternity,  his  own  self-contained  and  complete  personality. 
Humanity  is  one.  The  solidarity  of  the  human  race  is  now 
affirmed  by  the  highest  teachers  of  science.  Let  us  thank  God 
that  humanity  is  one :  for  then  one  Saviour  may  handle  the 
delicate  and  difficult  situation ;  and  if  death  came  by  one,  so  life 
may  come  by  one, — if  by  one  man's  disobedience  great  evil  was 
wrought,  by  one  man's  obedience  great  triumphs  may  be  achieved. 
The  evangelical  conception  is  to  our  thinking  day  by  day  clearer, 
in  all  its  reach  and  meaning,  and  it  is  easier  to  sneer  at  it  than 
to  disprove  it, 

Zophar  indicates  another  thought  which  is  full  of  pleasing 
reflection.  He  pictures,  in  the  tenth  verse,  the  children  of  the 
bad  man  seeking  to  please  the  poor,  and  trying  in  some  way  to 
restore  their  goods.  Let  us  make  this  the  meaning,  if  we  can 
do  so  without  straining  the  letter.  It  has,  at  all  events,  a 
meaning  which  does  occasionally  exemplify  itself  in  that  manner 


196  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxx. 

The  difficulty  is  this,  that  sometimes  we  do  by  way  of  grace  and 
goodness  what  we  ought  to  do  by  way  of  right  and  justice.  We 
say  to  men,  Be  pleased  to  take  this ;  it  gives  us  pleasure  to  convey 
it ;  we  wish  to  be  courteous  and  hospitable  and  kind ;  be  good 
enough  to  receive  this  token  of  our  good-will.  By  so  doing  we 
are  practising  tricks  of  vanity  and  self-display.  We  should 
rather  say,  My  father  robbed  your  family  fifty  years  ago  :  take 
this  as  part-payment.  Would  God  we  could  pay  you  to  the  utter- 
most farthing ;  but  it  is  yours,  not  ours,  and  I  will  go  away  and 
try  to  make  some  more,  and  I  will  bring  it  to  you ;  yea,  if  God 
spare  my  health,  I  will  try  to  pay  you  fourfold.  It  was  a  bad 
deed ;  the  man,  the  literal  robber,  is  not  here  himself,  but  I 
cannot  rest  with  the  stigma  upon  my  name  :  take  it,  not  as  a 
favour,  but  as  a  right,  and  put  down  on  paper  that  I  have  paid 
you  so  much  in  the  pound. 


NOTE. 

The  age  in  which  Job  lived  is  a  question  that  has  created  much  discussion. 
The  most  probable  opinion  fixes  it  as  earlier  than  Abraham.  The  book 
may  be  read,  therefore,  between  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  chapters  of 
Genesis,  as  a  supplement  to  the  concise  record  of  the  early  condition  of 
our  race,  given  by  Moses. 

The  arguments  adduced  in  support  of  the  latter  opinion  are  as  follows, 
(l)  The  long  life  of  Job,  extending  to  two  hundred  years.  (2)  The  absence 
of  any  allusion  to  the  Mosaic  law,  or  the  wonderful  works  of  God  towards 
Israel  in  their  departure  from  the  land  of  bondage,  and  their  journey  to 
Canaan ;  which  are  constantly  referred  to  by  the  other  sacred  writers,  as 
illustrating  the  character  and  government  of  Jehovah.  (3)  The  absence  of 
any  reference  to  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  which  memorable 
event  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of  the  country  where  Job  resided ;  and  which 
as  a  signal  and  direct  judgment  of  the  Almighty  upon  the  wicked,  would 
hardly  have  been  omitted  in  an  argument  of  this  nature.  (4)  The  worship 
of  the  sun  and  moon  being  the  only  form  of  idolatry  mentioned  ;  which 
was,  without  question,  the  most  ancient,  chap.  xxxi.  26  -28.  (5)  The 
manners  and  customs  described,  which  are  those  of  the  earliest  patriarchs. 
(6)  The  religion  of  Job  is  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which  prevailed  among 
the  patriarchs  before  the  Mosaic  economy.  It  is  the  religion  of  sacrifices : 
but  without  any  officiating  priest,  or  sacred  place.  (7)  To  these  arguments 
Dr.  Hales  has  added  one  derived  from  astronomy,  founded  on  chaps,  ix-  9, 
and  xxxviii.  31,  22.  He  states,  that  the  principal  stars  there  referred  to, 
appear,  by  a  retrograde  calculation,  to  have  been  the  cardinal  constellations 
of  spring  and  autumn  about  B.C.  2130,  or  about  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  years  before  the  birth  of  Abraham. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  if  Job  lived  between  the  deluge  and  the  call 
of  Abraham,  we  have  an  additional  proof  that  God  has  never  left  the  world 
without  witnesses  to  his  truth. — Angus's  Bible  Handbook. 


Chapter  xx. 
AN  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OP  WICKEDNESS. 

II. 

ZOPH  AR  has  drawn  a  dreaiy  picture  of  the  wicked  man  and 
the  issue  of  all  wicked  action.  His  language  has  been 
incisive,  picturesque,  unmistakable  as  to  emphasis  and  meaning. 
He  thus  speaks  of  the  wicked  man  : 

"  IRs  bones  are  full  of  the  sin  of  his  youth,  which  shall  lie  down  with  him  in 
the  dust.  Though  wickedness  be  sweet  in  his  mouth,  though  he  hide  it 
under  his  tongue ;  though  he  spare  it,  and  forsake  it  not ;  but  keep  it  still 
within  his  mouth  :  yet  his  meat  in  his  bowels  is  turned,  it  is  the  gall  of  asps 
within  him"  (vv.  II-14). 

According  to  Zophar,  the  wicked  man  is  not  permitted  to  keep 
that  which  he  has  attained;  he  falls  back  from  every  point  of 
supposed  progress ;  he  yields  every  assumed  victory.  "  He  hath 
swallowed  down  riches,  and  he  shall  vomit  them  up  again" 
(v.  15).  He  shall  not  be  for  ever  rich.  He  may  have  the 
handling  of  much  gold,  but  he  will  be  a  beggar  at  the  last.  He 
shall  suck  the  poison  of  asps  which  lies  in  the  hedge.  He  shall 
suppose  himself  to  be  enjoying  a  luxury,  but  he  shall  awake  too 
late,  to  find  that  he  has  been  feeding  upon  the  poison  of  asps. 

Zophar  leaves  the  wicked  man  no  point  of  redemption,  no  rag 
of  reputation,  no  standing-ground  in  the  assembly  of  the  ages. 
He  kindles  a  hell  around  the  evil-doer,  and  burns  him,  so  that 
there  is  nothing  left  of  him  but  hot  ashes.  The  judgment  is 
complete,  all-including,  terrible  in  all  its  aspects  and  issues. 

But  all  this  might  be  taken  as  so  much  denunciation  in  words, 
were  not  some  substantial  moral  reason  assigned  for  all  this 
visitation.  Here  is  the  strength  of  the  Bible.  We  may  stand 
and  gaze  upon  its  Niagara-like  denunciations,  we  may  wonder  at 


198  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxx. 

the  torrent  of  *'  woes  **  proceeding  from  the  gracious  lips  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  we  may  say,  All  this  is  eloquent  expression :  but 
is  it  anything  more  ?  Now,  wherever  there  is  denunciation  there 
is  explanation,  and  in  all  cases  the  woe  never  exceeds  the  moral 
reason ;  there  is  no  excess  of  utterance ;  the  reason  is  deep 
enough  to  hold  all  the  torrent.  We  have  that  reason  even  in 
the  speech  of  Zophar.  He,  not  supposed  by  all  commentators  to 
be  logical  and  coherent,  strengthens  his  speech  by  a  "  because." 
If  we  can  find  in  that  "  because"  room  enough  for  the  judgment, 
we  may  turn  again  to  the  judgment  and  read  its  words  with  new 
significance  and  new  appreciation  : — 

**  Because  he  hath  oppressed  and  hath  forsaken  the  poor ;  because  he  hath 
violently  taken  away  an  house  which  he  builded  not"  (v.  19). 

That  is  the  reason  !  It  is  sufficient !  This  is  a  moral  universe, 
governed  by  moral  considerations,  judged  by  moral  standards. 
This  is  not  a  mere  creation,  in  the  sense  of  a  gigantic  framework 
well  put  together,  excellently  lighted,  and  affording  abundant 
accommodation  for  anybody  who  may  choose  to  come  into  it; 
this  is  a  school,  a  sanctuary,  a  place  of  judgment,  a  sphere  in 
which  issues  are  determined  by  good  conduct.  Let  us  dwell 
upon  this  point  until  we  feel  much  of  its  meaning. 

What  is  it  that  excites  all  this  divine  antagonism  and  judgment  ? 
Was  the  object  of  it  a  theological  heretic?  Was  the  man 
pronounced  wicked  because  he  had  imbibed  certain  wrong 
notions  ?  Was  this  a  case  of  heterodoxy  of  creed  being  punished 
by  the  outpouring  of  the  vials  of  divine  wrath  ?  Look  at  the 
words  again — "  because  he  hath  oppressed  and  hath  forsaken 
the  poor."  His  philanthropy  was  wrong.  The  man  was  wicked 
socially — wicked  in  relation  to  his  fellow  men.  All  wickedness 
is  not  of  a  theological  nature  and  quality,  rising  upward  into  the 
region  of  metaphysical  conceptions  and  definitions  of  the  Godhead, 
which  only  the  learned  can  present  or  comprehend  ;  there  is  a 
lateral  wickedness,  a  wickedness  as  between  man  and  man,  rich 
and  poor,  poor  and  rich,  young  and  old  ;  a  household  wickedness, 
a  market-place  iniquity.  There  we  stand  on  solid  rock.  If  you 
have  been  led  away  with  the  thought  that  wickedness  is  a 
theological  conception,  and  a  species  of  theological  nightmare, 
you  have  only  to  read  the  Bible,  in  its  complete  sense,  in  order 


Job  XX.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS.   199 

to  see  that  judgment  is  pronounced  upon  what  may  be  called 
lateral  wickedness — the  wickedness  that  operates  amongst  our- 
selves, that  wrongs  mankind,  that  keeps  a  false  weight  and  a 
short  measure,  that  practises  cunning  and  deceit  upon  the  simple 
and  the  ignorant,  that  fleeces  the  unsuspecting, — a  social  wicked- 
ness that  stands  out  that  it  may  be  seen  in  all  its  black  hideous- 
ness,  and  valued  as  one  of  the  instruments  of  the  devil.  There 
is  no  escape  from  the  judgment  of  the  Bible.  If  it  pronounce 
judgment  upon  false  opinions  only,  then  men  might  profess  to 
be  astounded  by  terms  they  cannot  comprehend,  by  metaphysics 
that  lie  beyond  their  culture :  but  the  Bible  goes  into  the  family, 
the  market-place,  the  counting-house,  the  field  where  the  labourer 
toils,  and  insists  upon  judging  the  actions  of  men,  and  upon 
sending  away  the  richest  man  from  all  his  bank  of  gold,  if  he 
have  oppressed  and  forsaken  the  poor.  Compare  this  with 
Christ's  judgment  of  opinions: — "When  the  Son  of  man  shall 
come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall 
he  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory :  and  before  him  shall  be 
gathered  all  nations :  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from 
another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats."  And 
he  shall  say  unto  them  on  the  right  hand,  You  have  had  excellent 
opinions,  you  have  been  good  judges  of  philosophy,  you  have 
been  sharp-minded,  keen-eyed ;  you  have  been  very  brilliant 
metaphysicians  :  therefore  go  into  the  golden  heavens,  and  enjoy 
the  New  Jerusalem,  and  be  at  rest  for  evermore.  How  poorly 
the  judgment  would  have  read  !  And  to  them  on  the  left  hand 
the  Judge  shall  say.  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels :  for  you  have  been  as 
owls  in  the  sanctuary,  seeing  nothing  of  the  mystery  of  daylight , 
you  have  been  without  cleverness,  ability,  mental  astuteness  ;  you 
know  nothing  about  long  words  and  difficult  terms  :  therefore  go 
down,  and  sink  into  eternal  night.  How  unjust  the  judgment ! 
We  have  not  had  equal  chances  in  this  matter.  But  the  judg- 
ment shall  run  contrariwise,  on  a  great  broad  human  and  social 
level — "  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat."  Any  man 
can  divide  his  crust  with  another, — if  not  divide  it  in  equal 
halves,  divide  it  so  that  the  other  man,  aching  with  hunger, 
shall  at  least  appease  his  desire.  "  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
drink.'*     Any  one  can  hand  a  cup  of  cold  water.     The  merit  is 


200  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxx. 

not  in  the  water,  but  in  the  cup  and  in  the  handling.  The  well 
is  deep,  and  thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with,  but  I  have  a  vessel 
with  which  I  can  draw ;  and  if  I  see  thee  die  of  thirst,  because  I 
will  not  lend  thee  the  vessel  or  show  thee  how  to  draw  the  water, 
I  care  not  if  I  am  as  metaphysical  as  Athanasius  and  as  learned 
as  Augustine,  there  is  no  hell  too  hot  and  deep  for  me.  This  is 
the  commandment  of  God  :  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God, 
and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  Where  can  we  find  in  all  the 
range  of  Holy  Scripture  a  single  instance  in  which  a  man  was, 
so  to  say,  promoted  to  heaven  because  he  had  clear  views, 
because  all  his  opinions  were  exquisitely  right  and  were  laid  out 
in  faultless  intellectual  mosaic?  The  Pharisees  were  men  of 
learning :  did  the  Lord  ever  pronounce  a  single  eulogium  upon 
them  ?  The  scribes  lived  in  letters,  all  day  they  were  writing 
words,  explaining  terms,  reading  the  law;  they  were  in  very 
deed  the  literary  men  of  their  day  :  when  did  Christ  gather  them 
together  in  a  common  feast  and  say.  Now  shut  the  door,  and  let 
the  ignorant  be  excluded,  whilst  we,  wise  men  and  learned, 
instruct  one  another  in  terms  of  brotherhood  and  love?  To 
whom  did  Jesus  Christ  ever  say.  Whatever  they  say  unto  you,  do 
it ;  because  they  sit  in  Moses'  seat  and  their  word  is  right  enough  : 
but  do  not  follow  their  example  ?  These  were  the  learned  men 
of  the  time  !  On  the  other  hand,  how  often  is  conduct  made  the 
rule  of  judgment  ?  There  can  be  no  difficulty  in  pointing  out 
instances  illustrative  of  this  : — the  poor  woman  who  followed  the 
Saviour  into  the  house  of  Simon,  stood  behind  him,  and  cried 
over  him,  and  washed  his  feet  with  her  tears,  and  dried  them 
with  the  hairs  of  her  head ;  she  was  forgiven  all  her  sins :  the 
poor  widow  who  passed  the  treasury  and  dropped  in  all  her 
living.  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these, 
ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  That  verse  should  be  read  backwards 
sometimes,  so  that  the  littleness  of  the  deed  may  be  seen  in  the 
littleness  of  the  receiver :  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the 
least  of  these — we  fix  our  minds  always  upon  the  person 
receiving  the  benefaction  :  whereas  we  ought  to  say — If  done  to 
the  least,  it  was  the  least  that  could  be  done,  yet  upon  this 
minimum  of  excellence  God  sets  the  seal  of  heaven.  We  have 
stated  this  thus  broadly  and  fervently,  but  if  it  went  without 
modification  it  would  present  a  totally  incomplete  and  mischievous 


Job  XX.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS,  201 

view  of  the  case.  Do  let  us  beware  of  all  half-truths.  It  is 
-distressing  to  see  how  men  will  eagerly  snatch  at  half  a  truth 
when  it  pleases  them,  and  forget  the  other  half  that  would  modify 
it,  and  hold  it  in  just  proportion,  and  chasten  the  receiver,  and 
keep  him  within  the  grip  and  discipline  of  God.  A  man's 
conduct  is  not  necessarily  good  because  he  has  no  opinions.  A 
person  is  not  necessarily  of  the  very  highest  quality  of  character 
because  he  professes  to  know  nothing  about  God,  and  the 
spiritual  world,  and  the  mysterious  laws  that  are  said  to  govern 
human  motive  and  human  destiny.  It  might  be  supposed  from 
some  eloquent  speakers  that  if  a  man  only  endeavoured  to  be 
charitable,  if  he  cared  nothing  for  what  people  thought,  if  he 
opened  his  door  to  all  sorts  of  men  and  never  asked  them  a 
question  about  the  law  or  the  gospel,  he  would  be  an  excellent 
person,  and  would  be  sure  of  heaven.  Let  us  protest  against 
this  sophism ;  yea,  let  us  call  it  more  than  a  sophism  :  it  is  the 
deceit  which  men  like;  it  is  easy  piety;  it  gratifies  many  a 
sensibility  without  bringing  the  whole  soul  under  discipline,  and 
under  a  sense  of  indebtedness  to  him  from  whom  alone  is  every 
good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift.  Let  us  reason  rather  in  some 
such  way  as  this  :  here  is  a  man  who  is  endeavouring  to  do 
good ;  therefore  God  is  working  in  him,  though  the  man  himself 
know  it  not;  having  begun  by  being  charitable,  he  may  end 
by  being  also  truly  spiritual :  in  the  meantime,  the  charity  is 
excellent,  it  is  to  be  encouraged,  a  divine  blessing  goes  along  with 
it,  without  it  there  could  be  no  piety ;  but  in  itself  it  is  incom- 
plete, yet,  who  knows  ?  Persevere  in  doing  the  will,  and  at  last 
you  may  know  the  doctrine :  multiply  your  good  deeds.  Do  not 
discourage  yourself  in  sacrifice,  in  gift  of  every  kind,  in  service 
of  every  range  and  quality,  but  proceed,  and  be  abundant  in  good 
labours,  because  you  are  doing  more  than  you  think  you  are 
doing  :  you  are  undergoing  a  process  of  education,  and  some  day 
there  may  strike  you  a  new  light,  an  illumination  above  the 
brightness  of  the  sun,  and  you  may  then  see  the  explanation 
which  had  never  entered  into  your  conception  before.  Let  us 
resist  the  foolish  suggestion  that  it  is  sufficient  to  be  easy,  genial, 
unsuspecting,  even  Uberal  in  donation ; — all  that  is  right,  good, 
invaluable  :  but  unless  the  fountain  be  pure  the  stream  cannot 
continue  to  be  good ;  here  and  there  it  may  be  limpid  enough, 


20Z  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxx. 

very  attractive  and  most  useful,  but  a  clean  thing  cannot  come 
out  of  an  unclean ;  the  stream  is  only  right  when  the  fountain  is 
right ;  not  until  the  heart  is  right  with  God  can  the  hands — both 
of  them,  and  all  day — be  right  with  society. 

Zophar  gives  a  view  of  the  wicked  which  is  very  significant  :— 

"  In  the  fulness  of  his  sufficiency  he  shall  be  in  straits  "  (v.  22). 

That  is  a  marvellous  instance  of  divine  judgment.  A  man  may 
have  much,  and  yet  be  in  poverty.  We  have  heard  of  some 
such  instances  in  actual  life.  Men  are  said  to  have  quite  an 
abundance  of  property,  and  yet  they  cannot  meet  an  immediate 
obligation :  their  property  is  consolidated ;  it  is  not  immediately 
available,  so  that  comparatively  rich  men  have  sometimes  to  ask 
favours  of  their  friends.  All  this  may  be  good  in  commerce, 
perfectly  intelligible  in  business  relations;  it  involves  no  dis- 
honour whatever :  but  take  it  as  a  suggestion  of  something  far 
beyond  itself.  Here  is  a  man  who  has  "  fulness  of  sufficiency," 
and  yet  he  is  in  straits.  He  has  plenty  of  the  wrong  stuff,  A 
man  at  a  toll-gate  who  has  a  million-pound  note  is  as  badly  off 
as  the  man  who  has  not  a  single  halfpenny :  neither  of  the  men 
can  pass  through  the  toll-gate.  There  may  be  a  -poverty  of 
wealth  as  well  as  a  poverty  of  destitution.  So  the  wicked  man 
may  be  in  straits  of  all  kinds ;  he  may  have  plenty  of  money, 
and  not  know  how  to  spend  it;  he  "may  have  an  abundance  of 
property,  and  be  without  thoughts,  impulses  of  a  heavenly  kmd, 
aspirations  that  seek  the  skies.  The  bad  man  may  have  no 
explanation  of  the  miseries  which  torment  him ;  he  may  be  mad 
with  impatience  because  his  spirit  has  never  been  chastened  by 
heavenly  experience.  The  good  man  may  have  nothing,  and 
yet  may  abound ;  he  may  be  hungry,  and  yet  may  be  satisfied : 
his  affliction  is  a  sanctified  sorrow;  he  says.  This  is  for  the 
present,  and  "  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous, 
but  grievous :  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peaceable 
fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exercised  thereby ;  * 
and  the  Lord  may  come  to-morrow,  or  on  the  third  day  he  may 
be  here :  one  look,  and  I  shall  forget  my  hfelong  trouble ;  one 
vision  of  Christ,  and  all  earth's  tragedy  will  be  sunk  in  oblivion. 
The  good  man,  whose  whole  estate  is  in  God,  can  never  be  in 


Job  XX.]  ANCIENT  CONCEPTION  OF  WICKEDNESS,  203 


straits ;  he  meets  a  mystery,  and  hails  it,  turns  it  into  an  altar, 
and  under  its  darkening  shadow  prays  his  mightiest  prayers 
The  good  man  entertains  as  a  guest  black  affliction,  weird  grief, 
awful  sorrow,  and  says  to  the  guest,  You  are  not  welcome  for 
your  own  sake,  but  a  blessing  shall  come  even  out  of  you :  God 
sent  you :  you  may  eat  my  flesh  and  my  bones,  and  drink  my 
blood,  and  seem  £0  conquer,  but  inasmuch  as  I  believe  God,  and 
in  God,  and  live  in  God,  you  cannot  hurt  me ;  I  have  a  word 
singing  in  me  now,  and  this  is  what  it  says — "  Be  not  afraid  of 
them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they 
can  do  : "  stop  as  long  as  God  wants  you  to  stop :  your  victory 
will  be  your  failure;  when  you  have  conquered  in  your  little 
purpose,  you  will  have  but  cut  the  tether,  and  given  me  all  the 
room  of  heaven.  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  their's  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  :  for  they 
shall  be  comforted."  "Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile 
you,  and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 
you  falsely,  for  my  sake  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  ;  for 
great  is  your  reward  in  heaven  :  for  so  persecuted  they  the 
prophets  which  were  before  you."  "Moses  .  .  .  refused  to  be 
called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter  .  .  .  esteeming  the  reproach 
of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt."  Liberty 
IS  in  the  mind  ;  freedom  is  in  Christian  hope  :  he  who  is  in 
Christ,  and  seizes  the  future  in  Christ's  spirit  and  in  Christ's 
name,  is  not  poor,  cannot  be  poor ;  he  is  rich  with  unsearchable 
riches. 

So  Zophar  has  described  the  estate  and  condition  of  the  wicked. 
Who  will  be  wicked  now  ?  Who  will  dare  this  fate  ?  We 
know  it  to  be  true ;  we  need  no  logician  or  rhetorician  to  prove 
this  truth  and  drive  it  home  upon  us :  we  know  it  to  be  true. 
**  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God ;" 
"  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire ; "  "  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we 
neglect  so  great  salvation  ? "  "  The  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget  God."  "The  wicked 
shall  go  away  into  everlastmg  punishment."  We  cannot  tell 
the  meaning  of  these  terms;  we  have  never  pretended  to  define 
them ;  if  they  could  be  defined  they  would  be  weakened :  let 
them  stand  there,   in  all  their  dumb  significance,   too  vast  1"  r 


204  TH^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxx. 


language,  too  awful  for  metaphor.  If  this  be  the  fate  of  the 
wicked,  it  follows  that  the  fate  of  the  righteous  must  be  other- 
wise. "  Le  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last 
end  be  like  his."  "Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil:  for  thou  art  with 
me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me."  I  would  rather 
die  with  Christ  by  my  side  in  the  poorest  hovel  in  creation,  than 
die  without  him  in  a  king's  palace,  with  regiments  of  soldiers 
gathered  in  serried  ranks  around  the  royal  walls.  Blessed  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  ;  they  rest  from  their  labours,  and 
their  works  do  follow  them :  "  they  shall  hunger  no  more, 
neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them, 
nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of 
waters:  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;" 
they  shall  serve  God  day  and  night  in  his  temple,  and  his  name 
shall  be  in  their  foreheads,  and  a  white  stone  of  mystery  in  their 
palm.  May  this  be  our  sweet  fate !  That  it  may  be  so  we  must 
adopt  the  divine  means  for  securing  the  gracious  end  :  "  Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  "Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  "Him  that  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me,  and  drink." 
Seeing  that  we  have  to  face  the  future,  that  every  man  has  to 
read  the  dark  book  for  himself,  who  says  that  he  will  refuse  the 
light  of  Christ's  presence, — the  joy  of  Christ's  comfort  ? 


Job  xxi.  15. 

"  What  profit  should  we  have,  if  we  pray  unto  him  ?• 

THE  PROFITABLENESS   OP  RELIGION. 

THIS  inquiry  will  lead  us,  by  a  very  little  expansion  of  its 
terms,  to  consider  the  general  subject  of  the  advantages  of 
religion.  Regard  the  text  in  that  broad  aspect,  not  limiting  it 
to  prayer,  or  any  special  exercise  of  piety,  but  as  opening  up 
these  great  questions :  What  better  is  a  man  for  being  religious  ? 
Is  it  not  possible  to  be  as  good  and  as  great  without  religion  as 
with  it  ?  Understand  that  we  are  speaking  exclusively  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  not  of  any  form  of  pagan  superstition. 
What,  profit  is  it,  then,  that  a  man  should  believe  the  doctrines 
of  Jesus  Christ  ?  What  advantage  arises  from  believing  in  God 
as  revealed  by  his  Son  ?  If  a  man  be  sincere  and  consistent, 
what  disadvantage  does  he  suffer,  as  compared  with  the  man 
who  accepts  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith?  Such  is  our 
subject,  namely :  The  profitableness  of  religion ;  an  answer  to 
the  great  inquiry,  What  profit  should  we  have,  if  we  serve  the 
Almighty  ? 

No  man  can  hold  the  Christian  view  of  God's  personality  and 
dominion  without  his  whole  intellectual  nature  being  ennobled. 
He  no  longer  looks  at  things  superficially ;  he  sees  beyond  the 
gray,  cold  cloud  that  limits  the  vision  of  men  who  have  no  God  ; 
the  whole  sphere  of  his  intellectual  life  receives  the  light  of 
another  world.  The  difference  between  his  former  state  and  his 
present  condition,  is  the  difference  between  the  earth  at  midnight 
and  the  earth  in  the  glow  and  hope  of  a  summer  morning  I  This 
is  not  mere  statement.  It  is  statement,  based  upon  the  dis- 
tinctest  and  gladdest  experience  of  our  own  lives,  and  based  also 
upon  the  very  first  principles  of  common  sense.  ThejfinerjaJld" 
clearer  ojr  conceptions  of  the  divine  idea,  the  nobler  and  stronger 


2o6  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxi.  15. 

must  be  our  intellectual  bearing  and  capacity.  When  the  very 
idea  of  God  comes  into  the  course  of  man's  thinking,  the  quality 
of  his  thought  is  changed;  his  outlook  upon  life  widens  and 
brightens ;  his  tone  is  subdued  into  veneration,  and  his  in- 
quisitiveness  is  chastened  into  worship.  Intellectually  the  idea 
of  God  is  a  great  idea.  It  enters  the  mind,  as  sunlight  would 
startle  a  man  who  is  groping  along  a  path  that  overhangs  abysses 
in  the  midst  of  starless  gloom.  The  idea  of  God  cannot  enter 
into  the  mind,  and  mingle  quietly  with  common  thinking. 
Whei:eyer  that  idea  goes,  it  carries  with  it  revolution,  elevation^ 
supremacy.  We  are  not  referring  to  a  cold  intellectual  assent  to 
the  suggestion  that  God  is,  but  of  a  reverent  and  hearty  faith  in 
his  being  and  rule.  Such  a  faith  never  leaves  the  mind  as  it 
found  it.  It  turns  the  intellect  into  a  temple ;  it  sets  within  the 
mind  a  new  standard  of  measure  and  appraisement ;  and  lesser 
lights  are  paled  by  the  intensity  of  its  lustre.  Is  this  mere 
statement  ?  It  is  statement ;  but  it  is  the  statement  of  ex- 
perience ;  it  is  the  utterance  of  what  we  ourselves  know ;  because 
comparing  ourselves  with  ourselves  we  are  aware  that  we  have 
known  and  loved  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  that  since  we  have  done  so,  our  intellectual  life  has  sprung 
from  the  dust,  and  refreshed  itself  at  fountains  which  are  acces- 
sible only  to  those  who  live  in  God, 

This,  then,  is  the  first  position  for  our  thought  and  considera- 
tion, namely :  That  np  man  can  entertain  with  reverence  and 
trust  the  idea  that  God  is,  without  his  whole  intellectual  nature 
being  lifted  up  to  a  higher  plane  than  it  occupied  before ;  without 
iiis  rnind  receiving  great  access  of  light  and  vigour.  Do  you  say 
that  you  know  some  men  who  profess  to  believe  in  God,  and 
who  sincerely  do  believe  in  his  existence  and  his  government, 
and  yet  they  are  men  of  no  intellectual  breath,  of  no  speciality 
in  the  way  of  intellectual  culture  and  nobleness  ?  We  believe 
that  to  be  perfectly  true ;  but  can  you  tell  what  those  men  would 
have  been,  small  as  they  are  now,  but  for  the  religion  that  is  in 
them  ?  At  present  they  are  very  minute,  intellectually  speaking, 
— exceedingly  small  and  microscopic.  But  what  would  they  have 
been  if  the  idea  of  God's  existence  and  rule  had  never  taken  pos- 
session of  their  intellectual  nature  ?    Besides  that,  they  are  on 


Jobxxi.  15.]    PROFITABLENESS  OF  RELIGION.  207 


the  line  of  progress.  There  is  a  germ  in  them  which  may  be 
developed,  which  may,  by  diligent  culture,  by  reverent  care, 
become  the  supreme  influence  in  their  mental  lives.  Such 
modifications  must  be  taken  into  account  when  we  are  disposed 
to  sneer  at  men  who,  though  they  have  a  God  in  their  faith  and 
in  their  hearts,  are  yet  not  distinguished  by  special  intellectual 
strength.  We  hear  of  men  who  never  mention  the  name  of  God, 
and  who,  therefore,  seem  to  have  no  religion  at  all ;  who  are  men 
of  very  brilliant  intellectual  power,  very  fertile  in  intellectual 
resources,  and  who  altogether  have  distinguished  themselves  in 
the  empire  of  Mind.  But  we  ask  what  might  these  men  have 
become  if  they  had  added  to  intellectual  greatness  a  spirit  of 
reverence  and  adoration  ?  It  cannot  surely  be  said  that  those 
men  would  not  have  been  greater  had  they  known  what  it  is  to 
worship  the  one  living  and  true  God  ?  We  must  say  that  they 
would  not  have  been  greater  and  would  not  have  had  intel- 
lectual profit,  before  we  can  establish  the  charge  that  we  are 
now  arguing  upon  a  mistaken  assumption.  But  the  suggestions 
are  perfectly  correct.  Some  religious  men  are  intellectually  little, 
some  unreligious  men  are  intellectually  great ;  and  yet  neither  of 
these  suggestions  touch  the  great  question  under  consideration. 

Not  only  is  there  an  ennoblement  of  the  nature  of  a  man,  as  a 
whole,  by  his  acceptance  of  the  Christian  idea  of  God — there  is 
more.  That  in  itself  is  an  inexpressible  advantage ;  but  there  is 
a  higher  profit  still,  forasmuch  as  there  is  a  vital  cleansing  and 
purification  of  a  man's  moral  being.  Let  a  man  receive  the 
Christian  idea  of  God,  let  him  believe  fully  in  God,  as  revealed  by 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  a  new  sensitiveness  is  given  to  his 
conscience ;  he  no  longer  loses  himself  in  the  mazes  of  a  cunning 
casuistry;  he  goes  directly  to  the  absolute  and  final  standard  of 
righteousness;  all  moral  relations  are  simplified;  moral  duty 
becomes  transparent ;  he  knows  what  is  right,  and  does  it ;  he 
knows  the  wrong  afar  off",  and  avoids  it.  Before  he  received  the 
Christian  idea  of  God  and  worship  according  to  the  spirit  and  law 
of  Jesus  Christ,  he  could  hoodwink  himself— that  last  act  of 
wickedness !  He  could  put  his  own  moral  eyes  out,  and  imagine 
that  having  closed  his  own  vision  he  had  extinguished  all  spiritual 
light ;  he  could  regard  the  flame  of  a  candle  as  sufficient,  without 


2o8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxi.  15. 


consulting  the  light  of  the  sun;  he  could  mistake  a  maxim  for  a 
principle,  and  justify  by  usage  what  he  never  could  defend  by 
righteousness.  But  now  that  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
jesus  Christ  is  in  him,  now  that  he  looks  at  everything  from  a 
Christian  standpoint,  he  takes  a  spiritual  view  of  every  question 
and  every  duty ;  he  examines  the  shades  and  colours  of  his  life 
by  God's  light;  and  he  is  ashamed,  with  unspeakable  shame,  of 
the  chicanery  which  enfeebled  and  disgraced  his  former  existence. 

This  is  the  statement  of  a  fact,  which  we  ourselves  have 
experienced.  We  are  not  in  this  matter  to  be  regarded  as  special 
pleaders  only.  We  are  the  witnesses  as  well  as  the  advocates ; 
we  are  speaking  upon  our  oath !  We  have  sworn  upon  the  Holy 
Book,  to  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 
truth, — and  this  we  do  when  we  say.  That  life  in  Jesus  Christ  the 
Son  of  God,  has  given  us  a  new  sensitiveness  of  conscience,  a  new 
moral  standard,  a  new  test  of  moral  satisfaction.  It  is  often 
urged  that  some  persons  make  great  professions  of  religion,  who 
after  all  do  not  appear  to  very  high  moral  advantage  when  com- 
pared with  others  whose  profession  is  by  no  means  so  loud  and 
broad.  There  can  be  no  controversy  upon  that  point.  But  it  is 
not  their  religion  that  is  to  be  blamed ;  it  is  their  want  of  religion 
that  is  to  be  pointed  out  and  deplored.  Some  men  never  open 
the  Bible,  never  identify  themselves  with  any  church,  and  are 
yet  considered  noble,  honourable,  upright  men  in  the  market- 
place and  in  the  various  relationships  of  life.  But  how  much 
nobler  and  better — better  altogether — such  men  would  be  if  they 
believed  in  God  as  revealed  by  Jesus  Christ !  That  is  the  pomt 
of  view  to  occupy,  if  we  would  be  fair  to  this  question.  It  is  not 
to  be  dismissed  on  mere  superficial  suggestion.  There  are  men 
who  disgrace  the  name  they  bear ;  but  do  not  blame  the  name, 
blame  those  who  are  traitorous  to  its  spirit  and  claims.  There 
are  men  who  do  not  identify  themselves  with  any  organised  form 
of  Christianity ;  and  we  do  not  say  how  far  they  may  or  may  not 
have  the  Spirit  of  God  within  them ;  but  any  man  who  has  a  high 
natural  sense  of  honour  becomes  a  greater  man,  more  spiritual  in 
his  moral  definitions,  more  keenly  spiritual  in  his  moral  vision,  in 
proportion  as  he  knows,  and  worships  and  serves  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


Jobxxi.15.]    PROFITABLENESS  OF  RELIGION,  209 

Further,  it  is  always  profitable  to  base  life  upon  intelligent 
faith.  He  who  walks  by  sight  only,  walks  in  a  blind  alley.  He 
who  does  not  know  the  freedom  and  joy  of  reverent,  loving  specu- 
lation, wastes  his  life  in  a  gloomy  cell  of  the  mouldiest  of  prisons. 
Even  in  matters  that  are  not  distinctively  religious,  faith  will  be 
found  to  be  the  inspiration  and  strength  of  the  most  useful  life. 
It  is  faith  that  does  the  great  work  of  the  world.  It  is  faith  that 
sends  men  in  search  of  unknown  coasts.  It  is  faith  that  re-trims 
the  lamp  of  inquiry,  when  sight  is  weary  of  the  flame.  It  is 
faith  that  unfastens  the  cable  and  gives  men  the  liberty  of  the 
seas.  It  is  faith  that  inspires  the  greatest  works  in  civilisation. 
So  we  cannot  get  rid  of  religion  unless  we  first  get  rid  of  faith, 
and  when  we  get  rid  of  faith  we  give  up  our  birthright  and  go 
into  slavery  for  ever  I  We  do  not  say  that  there  may  not  be 
an  apparent  equality  between  one  man  and  another.  One  man 
may  profess  faith  in  Christ  and  pray  to  God ;  and  the  other  may 
make  no  such  profession.  Viewed  according  to  the  mere  flesh, 
there  may  even  be  superiority  on  the  side  of  him  who  makes  no 
profession  of  religion;  there  may  be  points  of  great  similarity 
as  between  them;  yet  there  may  also  be  between  them  the 
profoundest  contrast.  They  may  dwell  in  the  same  neighbour- 
hood, yet  they  may  live  in  different  regions  of  the  universe. 
They  may  reside  upon  the  beat  of  the  same  tax-gatherer,  yet 
may  breathe  atmospheres  separated  by  immeasurable  miles; 
and  the  explanation  of  the  difficulty  may  be  found  in  the 
presence  or  absence  of  faith.  All  birds  are  not  the  same  birds ; 
neither  are  all  men  the  same  men.  Though  it  is  very  possible 
for  a  child  who  is  looking  at  two  birds  to  say,  "  They  are  both 
birds ;  one,  therefore,  must  be  as  good  as  the  other ; "  for  the 
child  would  judge  by  colour  and  shape,  and  form  his  judgment 
upon  things  that  are  but  superficial.  Hear  a  dialogue  and  say 
what  it  means ,:  Two  birds  are  in  conversation.  "  How  many 
eyes  have  you  ?  "  *'  Two."  "  So  have  I."  "  How  many  wings 
have  you?"  "Two."  "So  have  I."  "How  many  legs?" 
"  Two."  "  So  have  I.  And  you  are  covered  with  feathers,  and 
so  am  I."  Then  the  birds  are  both  alike ;  they  are  both  birds, 
and  there  is  an  end  of  the  matter.  No,  no  I  They  are  both 
birds, — yes.  But  the  beak  of  one  is  as  wax,  and  the  beak  of  the 
other  is  as  iron ;  the  legs  of  the  one  spread  out  into  webs,  the 

VOL.  XI.  14 


210  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxi.  15. 


legs  of  the  other  curl  into  coils  of  steel ;  the  wings  of  the  one 
flutter  in  the  farmyard,  the  wings  of  the  other  flap  themselves 
at  the  gate  of  the  sun  I  They  are  both  birds, — yes.  But  the 
one  is  a  goose,  and  the  other  is  an  eagle  I 

So  it  is  with  men  in  some  cases.     They  are  both  the  same 
height ;  they  are  clothed  alike ;  they  live  in  the  same  neighbour- 
hood ;  they  speak  the  same  language ;  they  use  the  currency  of 
the  same  realm ;  they  are  in  some  respects  upon  familiar  terms. 
Therefore,   they  are  equal, — they  are  both  men,  and   they  are 
both  alike.     No,  not  necessarily  so!     Outwardly  the  points  of 
similarity  are  evident.      But  when    life   sharpens   itself  into  a 
crisis,  when  the  all-determining  hour  comes  that  tries  the  metal 
of  a  man, — you  will  then  see  who  is  the  stronger,  who  has  the 
highest  quality  in  his  nature.     Is  it  not  so  in  common  life  ?     We 
have  heard  a  party  of  friends  singing  the  same  piece  of  music. 
For  a  while  their  voices  blended  very  sweetly,   and  not  being 
able   to   offer  a  scientific   criticism    upon   the  performance,  we 
thought   that   they  were  all  about   equal.     But   presently  they 
came  to  a  passage  of  very  high  notes,  very  lofty  music ;  and  in 
that  moment  they  all  ceased  but  one,  and  that  one  voice  went 
aloft — alone,  and  thrilled  us  by  the  perfectness  of  its  ease  I     If 
they  had  stopped  before  that,  we  should    have  given   common 
applause,  and  said,  **  One  is  as  good  as  another,  and  thank  you 
all."     But  there  was  a  time  of  trial,  and  in  that  time  of  trial  the 
masterly  voice  rose  where  other  voit:es  could  not  follow  it.     It 
is  so  in  the  great  concerns  and  trials  of  life.     For  days  together 
we  seem  to  be  tolerably  equal,  but  there  come  special   hours, 
critical  trials,  and  in  those  moments — which  are  condensed  life- 
times— we  show  the  stuff  we  are  made  of  and  the  capacity  we 
represent.     It  is  then  that  the  religious  man — if  deeply  and  truly 
intelligent  and  earnest — shows  himself  a  man.     Where  there  is 
great  faith  of  any  kind,  there  must  also  be  great  works.     That 
is  an  advantage  of  faith.     We  do  not  say  where  there  is  great 
profession  of  faitli,  but  where  there  is  actually  great  trust  and 
great  capacity  of  spiritual  reliance,  there  must  of  necessity  be 
great   service   or   great   endurance.      This   law   holds   good   all 
through  life ;  it  holds  good   in  the  common  affairs  of  our  daily 
existence.     The  man  who  has^jnost  faith  wjjl_hayjg.j[li^^ 


Jobxxi.  150    PROFITABLENESS  OF  RELIGION,  2ii 

The  man  who  believes  most  will  do  most  It  may  be  in  com- 
merce, quite  as  well  as  in  religion.  It  may  be  in  the  poorest, 
meanest  industry,  as  well  as  in  the  higher  pursuits  of  intellect 
and  courage.  The  law  is  sound,  good,  unchangeable.  Most 
faith,  most  work,  most  trust,  most  nobleness,  greatest  power 
of  relying  upon  the  future  and  upon  great  principles,  and  the 
sweeter  the  unmurmuring  patience  with  which  trials  are  encoun- 
tered and  endured.  This  is  a  great  law  in  life,  and  not  only 
a  law  in  religion.  It  is  in  all  aspects  and  departments  of  life 
philosophically  true,  that  faith  is  the  inspiration  of  industry, 
activity,  courage,  and  determination  to  advance  in  life.  If  this 
be  true  in  common  affairs,  what  must  be  the  works  of  those  who 
lovingly  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  Given  a  man  who  sets  his 
heart  to  believe  all  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  what  must  be 
his  works?  His  works  must  be  like  the  works  of  his  Master. 
What  works  were  those  ?  Common  works  ?  Say  when  he  did 
one  common  thing, — that  is,  one  mean  thing,  one  ignoble  deed, — 
or  when  did  he  set  his  name  against  one  paltry  transaction  ? 
His  life  is  before  you ;  your  critical  eyes  are  open ;  the  challenge 
is  wide  and  emphatic.  Given  a  man,  who  really  with  his  heart 
of  hearts  believes  in  Christ,  what  ought  his  works  to  be  ?  What 
nobleness,  what  intelligence,  what  fearlessness,  what  self-sacri- 
fice, what  seeking  out  of  causes  that  need  redress,  what  binding 
up  of  broken  hearts,  what  drying  of  tearful  eyes !  True,  we  are 
exposed  to  the  charge  of  inconsistency.  There  are  men  who 
taunt  us  with  knowing  what  is  right  and  not  doing  it;  who, 
when  they  see  us  falling  on  the  highway,  say,  "  Ha,  ha  I  that  is 
your  Christianity,  is  it? "  These  men  should  not  be  taken  as  the 
standards  of  morality.  It  is  one  thing  to  sneer  at  another  man, 
and  quite  a  different  thing  to  be  worthy  to  be  trusted  as  a  coun- 
sellor and  a  guide  in  moral  affairs. 

Let  us,  then,  who  believe  in  Christ  openly  look  at  this  great 
possibility,  namely:  Our  Master  may  be  blamed  for  our  short- 
comings. When  we  use  the  great  word  and  do  the  little  deed, 
a  sword  may  be  thrust  into  the  side  of  the  Son  of  God — a  sword 
that  shall  find  his  blood  and  cut  his  heart  1  Does  a  man — a  man  I 
oh  perverted  word  I — tell  his  Christian  wife  at  home,  when  she 
does   some   deed   which    does   not   please    exactly  his    critical 


2X3  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxi.15. 

judgment,  That  that  is  her  Christianity  ?  That  man  is  a  devil, 
who  would  slay  the  Son  of  God !  Does  a  woman  taunt  and  jibe 
her  husband  who  makes  a  profession  of  Christianity,  and  tell  him 
that  his  misdeeds  and  shortcomings  are  attributable  to  his 
religious  faith?  That  woman's  name  ought  not  to  be  mentioned 
in  civilised,  not  to  say  Christian,  society  I  We  are  well  aware 
that  we  are  chargeable  with  inconsistency  ;  but  could  we  face  an 
assembly  of  sneerers,  we  should  claim  this  as  a  right — blame  ms, 
do  not  blame  our  Master — scourge  us  to  the  bone,  to  the  marrow, 
but  lay  no  finger  on  the  Son  of  God!  Visit  us  with  your 
criticism — and,  alas  I  we  have  no  reply  to  it.  If  you  tell  us  we 
are  inconsistent,  we  are  obliged  to  say,  *'  Even  so."  We  cannot 
retort  upon  you,  and  say,  "  So  are  you."  It  is  a  coward's 
answer.  We  do  not  avail  ourselves  of  any  immoral  tu  quoque. 
We  take  the  blame;  we  say,  "You  are  right."  The  right  word 
comes  from  bad  lips.  We  cannot  return  the  word  as  an  unjust 
accusation  ;  but  may  we  beg,  pray,  entreat,  that  the  Son  of  God 
be  not  blamed  for  our  shortcomings!  Does  the  sneerer  come  to 
us,  and  say,  "  Is  this  the  profitableness  of  your  religion  then  ? 
Ha!  you  make  a  great  profession  of  religion,  yet  look  how 
narrow-minded  you  are !  Is  this  what  you  call  religion  ? " 
Our  reply  is.  Do  not  talk  to  us  so ;  it  is  insane  talk,  and  it  is 
animated  by  a  diabolical  spirit  I  Take  us  as  we  are ;  indicate  our 
shortcomings  and  spare  not  the  rod ;  but  do  not  crucify  the  Son 
of  God  afresh ! 

There  are  persons  in  the  world  who  will  insist  upon  judging 
this  great  question  of  religion  in  the  light  of  this  inquiry — 
**  What  profit  should  we  have,  if  we  pray  unto  him  ?  "  It  is  a 
vicious  question;  it  is,  as  a  piece  of  reasoning,  unsound  from 
beginning  to  end.  Yet  there  is  a  solemn  claim  upon  us  to  let  our 
profiting  appear  unto  all  observers.  We  are  to  be  living  epistles, 
known  and  read  of  men.  What  a  mighty  change  would  take 
place  in  society,  if  we  could  point  to  ourselves  as  illustrations  of 
faith ;  and  as  examples  of  religious  love  and  consistency  and 
devotion !  Yet  alas  !  every  Christian  has  to  say,  "  Do  not  look  at 
me  if  you  would  know  what  religion  is."  And  this  will  be  so, 
more  or  less,  to  the  end  of  life ;  because  the  holier  a  man  is,  the 
less  does  he  feel  inclined  to  exhibit  himself  as  a  pattern  or 


Jobxxi.i5.]    PROFITABLENESS  OF  RELIGION.  213 

example  to  others.  But  that  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be  one 
whit  the  less  the  most  loving  man  in  his  neighbourhood;  the 
most  noble  man  in  his  confraternity.  It  is  not  one  whit  the 
less  a  reason  why  he  should  not  exercise  the  profoundest  and 
most  beneficent  influence  upon  all  with  whom  he  may  come 
in  contact 

Now  as  to  those  who  are  observing  Christians  from  a  side  point 
of  view,  and  saying,  "  We  are  on  the  outlook  to  observe  what 
your  godliness  does  for  your  nature ;  our  eyes  are  upon  you,  and 
if  we  see  that  you  have  a  very  great  advantage  over  us,  probably 
we  may,  by-and-by,  come  over  to  you."  They  will  never  come  ! 
They  occupy  a  wrong  angle  of  vision  ;  they  are  pursuing  a  course 
of  vicious  reasoning.  The  question  for  such  to  look  at  is,  not 
what  advantage  do  professors  seem  to  have,  but,  What  is  religion 
itself  ?  How  can  I  get  to  know  its  meaning  ?  How  can  I  put 
myself  under  its  influence  ?  Men  must  not  look  to  a  minister  as 
an  example  and  a  model,  nor  base  their  reasonings  upon  his 
character  and  spiritual  attainments.  The  hoariest  saint  goes  home 
if  he  is  to  be  dragged  to  the  front,  to  be  looked  at  as  an  exhibi- 
tion of  the  advantages  and  the  profitableness  of  religion.  Look 
at  the  Son  of  God,  God  the  Son,  the  one  Teacher  and  the  only 
Saviour ;  and  we  risk  everything  upon  that  look,  if  so  be  it  be 
reverent,  earnest,  mtelligeot. 

Those  who  are  merely  collateral  observers,  do  an  injury  to 
themselves  in  supposing  that  Christians  are  to  be  looked  upon 
as  the  only  exponents  and  illustrations  of  the  profitableness  of 
religion.  Such  observers  miss  the  whole  question ;  they  waste 
their  energy ;  they  toil  in  waters  where  there  is  nothing  to  be 
caught;  they  pursue  where  there  is  nothing  to  be  overtaken. 
We  would  urge  such  to  study  religion  itself,  to  pay  earnest  heed 
to  every  feature  of  the  life  of  Christ.  We  turn  away,  that  the 
Master  alone  may  be  left  with  you.  Is  there  a  man  who  has 
read  the  life  of  Christ,  who  will  say  that  if  society  received  that 
life  and  based  its  policy  upon  it,  the  most  beneficent  revolution 
would  not  gradually  occur  in  society  ?  When  did  the  Son  of 
God  ever  flatter  a  rich  or  great  man  that  he  might  enjoy  his 
momentary  patronage  ?     When  did    the  Son  of  God    set   man 


214  ^^^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxi.  15. 

against  man  in  deadly  hate  or  mortal  strife?  When  did  the 
Son  of  God  interfere  with  the  comfort  of  any  home  ?  Where  is 
the  family  that  can  say,  "  Not  until  Christ  came  amongst  us  did 
we  know  the  meaning  of  strife  and  bitterness  "  ?  Can  one  such 
family  be  found  ?  But  ten  thousand  other  families  can  give  the 
lie  to  the  accusation,  and  say  they  never  knew  what  home  was, 
till  they  set  up  on  the  hearthstone  an  altar  to  the  living  God. 
When  men,  therefore,  ask  what  is  the  profitableness  of  religion, 
we  say, — Consider  what  would  take  place  in  every  department 
of  society,  if  the  love  of  Christ  were  multiplied  by  the  life  of 
mankind.  Then  righteousness  would  walk  in  the  middle  of  the 
highway ;  virtue  would  be  no  longer  trampled  in  the  dust,  and 
as  for  oppression,  its  arm  would  be  stayed  ;  and  as  for  cruelty 
its  teeth  would  be  broken  with  gravel  I 

How  is  this  to  take  place?  By  individual  inquiry,  by  per- 
sonal consecration,  by  each  heart  looking  at  the  question  for 
itself  and  making  its  own  decisions.  May  some  young  heart 
honestly  say,  "  From  this  time  forth  I  will  look  at  the  profitable- 
ness of  religion  in  the  light  of  Christ's  life,  and  not  in  the  hght 
of  the  lives  of  the  people  that  are  round  about  me.  I  myself 
will  give  my  days  and  nights  to  a  study  of  supreme  religious 
questions  "  ?  Will  any  young  heart  vow  that  hence  on,  through- 
out all  his  days,  he  will  think,  inquire,  read,  take  courage  and 
decide  for  himself  in  the  light  of  God's  book  and  Christ's  life, 
upon  all  great  questions  ?  The  man  to  fear  is  the  man  who 
supposes  that  he  knows  everything.  The  man  who  will  do  no 
good,  is  the  man  who  dogmatically  pronounces  against  everybody, 
who  makes  a  profession  of  religion  and  who  considers  himself 
the  censor  of  mankind.  Have  hope  of  men  who  think ;  though 
at  first  they  may  think  crookedly,  perversely,  and  indistinctly. 
Have  faith  in  any  sign  of  life.  It  is  when  men  are  stagnant  that 
we  may  give  up  hope.  It  is  when  men  have  no  questions  to 
ask  that  we  may  pronounce  them  dead.  When  they  receive 
everything,  as  the  rock  receives  rain  and  the  desert  the  great 
sunlight,  we  may  pronounce  them  dead.  Opposition  is  better 
than  some  species  of  consent.  Have  hope  of  men  who  will 
contend  resolutely,  intelligently,  though  they  be  fighting  against 
us  with  every  breath  they  draw,  and  every  syllable  they  utter 


Jobxxi.  150    PROFITABLENESS  OF  RELIGION,  215 

be  as  a  drawn  sword.     There  is  life,  there  is  activity,  there  is 
desire  to  know  and  advance. 

What  profit  should  we  have  ?  Some  of  us  never  knew  what 
life  was,  till  we  knew  Jesus.  We  thought  we  knew  life ;  but 
we  saw  it  only  on  a  cold,  grey,  wintry  day.  After  we  knew 
Christ,  we  saw  it  in  summer  blossom,  in  summer  glory,  in 
summer  pomp  !  And  we  are  not  to  be  contradicted  without 
thought  and  without  care.  Because,  after  all,  we  have  this 
advantage  over  some  persons,  that  we  have  tried  the  profitable- 
ness of  sin  and  we  have  tried  the  experience  of  the  religious 
life.  Oh  I  imagine  not  that  only  the  bad  man  knows  the  pro- 
fitableness of  the  black  art  1  We  have  been  just  where  he  is. 
Whatever  his  experience  now,  we  know  it.  There  is  no  hiero- 
glyphic in  the  devil's  writing  we  cannot  spell  out  to  its  last  throb 
of  meaning.  There  is  no  cup  in  the  devil's  hostelry  which  we 
have  not  emptied,  turned  up,  and  called  out  for  more!  We 
have  that  advantage  over  our  critics  and  our  cruel  censors ;  and 
having  that  advantage  we  say.  That  not  until  we  knew  Jesus, 
and  loved  the  truth  as  it  is  in  him,  did  we  know  the  value  of 
life,  or  the  pain  of  life, — that  pain  which  is  the  birth-agony  of 
supreme  and  eternal  joy  I 

We  could  take  you  to  many  scenes  that  would  show  the  infinite 
profitableness  of  faith  in  God.  We  should  not  withdraw  the 
flowered  curtain  behind  which  sinful  life  drinks  its  poisoned 
cups.  We  should  take  you  to  houses  that  have  been  desolated  by 
misfortune,  and  show  you  the  profitableness  of  religion  in  the 
sweet  patience  which  it  has  wrought  in  sad  hearts ;  we  should 
take  you  to  the  house  of  affliction,  where  youth  has  been  turned 
into  old  age  by  long-continued  pain,  and  show  how  the  fire  has 
left  the  gold  and  only  consumed  the  dross ;  we  should  take  you  to 
men  who  once  were  the  curse  and  terror  of  society,  and  show 
you  the  light  of  Christian  intelligence  in  their  countenances  and 
the  love  of  Christian  charity  in  their  actions ;  we  should  take  you 
to  the  chamber  "  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate,"  and  as  he 
smiles  at  the  last  enemy,  and  passes  upward  to  the  quiet  and 
holy  place,  calm,  fearless,  exultant,  we  should  say,  Behold  the 
profit  which  comes  of  knowing  and  loving  the  Saviour  of  the 
w^orld  I 


Chapter  xxil. 
THE  LAST  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ. 

THERE  are  two  interpretations  of  Scripture.  One  is  the 
critical  and  literal,  dealing  searchingly  and  usefully  with 
the  grammar  of  the  text,  seeking  to  know  exactly  what  each 
speaker  and  each  writer  meant  at  the  very  time  of  his  utterance 
and  at  the  very  time  of  his  authorship.  That  must  always  be  a 
work  of  high  utility.  We  cannot,  indeed,  proceed  legitimately 
until  we  have  settled  the  grammar  of  the  text.  But  we  should 
not  rest  there.  There  is  a  second  interpretation,  which  we  may 
call  the  larger.  That  interpretation  brings  up  the  word  to  our 
own  time,  sets  it  in  direct  reference  to  our  own  thought  and 
action — not  by  any  violent  process,  but  by  a  legitimate  develop- 
ment. The  question  which  the  wise  reader  will  put  to  himself 
in  perusing  the  Bible  is  to  this  effect :  What  would  these  inspired 
men  say  were  they  living  now,  were  they  addressing  me  as  they 
addressed  their  interlocutors  and  general  contemporaries  ?  This 
is  not  forcing  meanings  into  their  words  ;  this  is  not  an  unnatural 
and  perverting  exaggeration  of  terms  :  this  is  what  we  have 
described  as  a  legitimate  development  of  the  thought  and  purpose 
of  the  men.  What  Eliphaz  said  to  Job  was  of  the  greatest  possible 
consequence  to  the  patriarch,  and  is  of  the  greatest  possible  con- 
sequence to  all  ages.  But  is  it  not  open  to  us  to  discover  from 
what  Eliphaz  has  said  what  he  would  say  under  modern  circum- 
stances and  under  our  own  immediate  conditions  ?  Is  there  not 
an  enlarging  faculty,  a  peculiar  power  of  the  mind  which  attests 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  which  we  can  definitely  say 
v/hat  the  Bible  writers  would  have  written  now  ?  If  we  have 
such  faculty,  if  we  enjoy  such  immediate  ministry  of  God  the 
Holy  Spirit,  we  shall  be  able  to  verify  it  by  inquiring  how  far 
what  we  now  say,  either  in  reasoning  or  exhortation,  coincides 
with  what  is  written  in  the  book  of  inspiration.     There  must  be 


Jobxxii.]      THE  LAST  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ.  217 

no  difference  of  quality ;  there  must  be  no  contradiction  in  moral 
tone  or  purpose ;  conscience  must  not  be  disturbed  by  this  larger 
translation,  this  widening  and  brightening  of  things  said  long  ago  . 
the  root  and  the  branch  are  really  one ;  we  must  not  graft  any- 
thing upon  the  old  trunk,  the  tree  of  the  Lord's  right-hand 
planting,  but  we  must  watch  its  natural,  legitimate,  and  purposed 
developments ;  and  thus  we  shall  have  an  ever-enlarging  Bible, 
a  book  old  as  the  ink  with  which  it  was  first  written,  yet  new  as 
this  morning's  dew,  as  this  day's  holy  dawn.  This  is  what  the 
Bible  is, — old  and  new;  coming  up  from  eternity,  yet  conde- 
scending upon  every  day  of  time,  and  leaving  behind  light  and 
blessing.  Never  be  satisfied,  therefore,  with  the  mere  interpre- 
tation of  the  scribe.  He  lives  in  the  letter.  He  would  seem 
almost  to  pay  homage  to  the  ink.  Up  to  a  given  point  he  may 
be  right ;  but  there  is  a  point  beyond — the  large  interpretation, 
the  moral  meaning,  the  persistence  of  thought,  by  which  thought 
urges  its  way  through  all  coming  days,  events,  circumstances; 
proclaims  the  old  commandments,  and  the  old  beatitudes,  with 
new  force,  new  sympathy,  new  considerateness.  This  is  why 
we  go  back  to  the  old  speakers  and  old  writers.  We  are  not 
mere  superstitious  devotees.  It  is  because  the  present  coincides 
with  the  past,  and  the  past  dignifies  the  present,  and  because 
we  perceive  that  God's  providence  is  an  organic  whole,  a  grand 
beneficent  scheme,  that  we  revert  to  the  olden  time,  and  come 
up  to  the  immediate  day,  feeling  how  true  it  is  that  God's 
thought  is  one,  God's  love  is  unchanging,  God's  mercy  endureth 
for  ever.  Under  the  light  of  this  canon,  see  how  Eliphaz  the 
Temanite  sits  down  beside  us  to-day,  and  with  what  gravity  he 
talks,  with  what  pungent  questions  he  pierces  us,  with  what 
solemn  appeals  he  challenges  our  attention.  Have  no  faith  in 
those  easy  and  superficial  critics  who  tell  you  to  attend  to  the 
present  time  and  think  nothing  of  Eliphaz  and  Bildad  and 
Zophar,  because  they  lived  long  ago.  They  did  not — in  any 
sense  which  has  rendered  them  obsolete.  There  is  nothing  new 
that  is  true  ;  there  is  nothing  true  that  is  new.  The  Lamb  slain 
for  sin  was  historically  crucified  on  Calvary :  but  morally, 
redeemingly,  divinely,  he  died  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  We  lose  our  dignity  when  we  live  within  the  present 
sunrise  and  sunset,  when  we  sever  the  present  day  from  the 


2i8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxii. 

fountains  of  history.  Eliphaz  will  come  to  us,  and  like  a  seer 
will  be  quiet,  like  a  prophet  of  the  Lord  he  will  burn,  like  an 
apostle  who  grasps  the  genius  and  the  end  of  the  present  time 
he  will  flame,  and  appeal,  and  exhort,  with  heavenly  eloquence. 
Let  us  hear  him. 

How  he  rebukes  the  supposed  patronage  which  men  would 
offer  the  living  God  I 

"  Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto  God  ?  ...  Is  it  any  pleasure  to  the 
Almighty,  that  thou  art  righteous  ?  or  is  it  gain  to  him,  that  thou  makest 
thy  ways  perfect  ?  "  (w.  2,  3). 

The  legitimate  interpretation  of  these  words,  their  fair  and 
honest  enlargement,  leads  us  to  say :  no  man  can  confer  patronage 
upon  God,  upon  the  altar,  upon  the  cross,  upon  the  church,  upon 
the  truth.  We  get  all;  we  can  give  but  little  or  nothing — so 
little,  that  giving  it  we  do  not  know  we  are  worthy  of  any 
honour.  It  is  a  matter  of  fact  that  some  men  do  suppose  they 
add  something  to  God's  greatness  by  according  to  him  their 
patronage  I  They  would  not  say  so  in  words.  Men  are  some- 
times afraid  of  their  own  voices.  Not  on  any  account  would 
they  say  so  in  so  many  sentences  or  phrases ;  but  is  there  not 
working  in  the  human  heart — that  marvellous  webwork  of 
mystery — some  remote  subtle  thought  that  by  going  to  church 
we  confer  some  favour,  not  only  upon  the  Church,  but  upon 
God  himself?  How  curious  in  its  working  is  the  human  heart  I 
Some  men  seem  to  live  to  confer  respectability  upon  what- 
ever they  touch.  The  Church  is  partly  to  blame  for  this.  The 
Church  is  far  too  eager  to  put  away  the  common  people  and 
bid  them  be  quiet,  in  order  that  some  uncommon  man  may 
come  in  and  take  his  velvet-cushioned  seat  in  God's  temple. 
There  are  some  who  say  that  if  such  and  such  arguments  be 
true,  or  such  and  such  men  have  taken  a  right  view,  they  will 
give  up  religion  altogether.  What  a  threat  I  How  it  makes 
the  sun  tremble,  and  sends  a  pain  to  the  earth's  very  heart  1 
A  man  who  can  give  up  religion  has  no  religion  to  give  up. 
Whatl  Is  religion  something  to  be  held  in  the  hand,  and  laid 
down  at  will  and  pleasure  ?  Is  it  a  garment  that  is  worn, 
and  of  which  the  body  can  be  dispossessed  ?  That  is  not 
the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God,  the  ever-living,  ever-glowing  soul 


Jobxxii.]      THE  LAST  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ. 


of  goodness.  Herein  is  true  what  has  often  been  misunderstood 
by  the  expression  of  "  the  perseverance  of  the  saints "  :  they 
must  be  saints  to  persevere ;  if  they  do  not  persevere  they  are 
not  saints.  A  man  can  no  more  give  up  religion  than  he  can 
give  up  breathing;  that  is  to  say,  when  he  gives  up  breathing  he 
commits  suicide.  Religion  is  not  a  set  of  phrases,  something  in 
book  form,  a  mystery  that  can  be  written  down  and  cancelled  by 
the  hand  that  wrote  it ;  it  is  the  soul's  life,  the  heart's  sympathy 
with  God,  identity  with  Christ :  ''  I  am  crucified  with  Christ : 
nevertheless  I  live  ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  Who 
can  separate  the  two  ?  They  are  not  two — they  are  one.  When 
a  man  threatens  to  give  up  his  religion,  O  Church  of  the  living 
God,  quiet  thyself!  say,  as  a  great  philosopher  said  to  a  too- 
excited  man,  "  Why  so  hot,  my  little  sir  ?  "  Really,  no  intolerable 
catastrophe  will  have  occurred  if  such  men — observe  the  emphasis 
upon  the  word  such — should  perpetrate  the  impossibility  of 
giving  up  what  they  never  possessed !  There  are  others  again 
who  threaten  the  State  in  the  same  way.  Truly  we  live  in  very 
anxious  and  solemn  times.  Some  men  threaten  to  abandon  the 
service  of  the  State  if  such  and  such  a  policy  is  pursued.  The  State 
will  still  go  on !  There  are  those  who  say,  If  this  be  done  and 
said,  we  shall  give  up  public  life.  By  all  means  give  it  up ;  the 
threat  does  not  make  us  much  afraid.  A  man  can  no  more  give 
up  patriotism  than  he  can  give  up  religion,  regard  being  had 
to  quality  and  degree.  Patriotism  is  part  of  the  man ;  it  is 
mixed,  so  to  say,  with  his  very  blood ;  he  drew  it  in  with  his 
mother's  milk ;  if  he  can  give  it  up,  he  ought  never  to  have 
avowed  it. 

To  this  solemn  issue  must  we  come — that  men  must  recognise 
that  rehgion  is  greater  than  they  are,  patriotism  is  greater  than 
they  are,  and  neither  Church  nor  country  ought  to  be  under  such 
obligation  to  any  man  as  to  be  unable  to  do  without  him.  We 
are  honoured  by  the  Church  ;  but  honour,  how  little  we  can  give ! 
We  are  honoured  by  living  in  the  country ;  if  we  can  give  any 
little  honour  in  return,  God  be  praised  !  There  are  also  some  men 
who  occasionally  threaten  to  give  up  the  ministry.  Would  God 
they  would  !  If  a  man  can  ever  threaten  to  leave  the  ministry,  let 
him  go  !     It  is  recorded  that  in  an  early  Wesleyan  Conference 


220  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxii. 


Mr.  Charles  Wesley  said  that  if  such  and  such  things  were 
done  he  would  leave  the  Conference.  His  elder  and  greater 
brother  said,  "Will  some  brother  be  kind  enough  to  give  him 
his  hat?"  That  is  not  the  way  to  treat  great  organisations, 
and  sublime  policies,  and  holy  altars.  What  I  a  man  leave  the 
ministry,  except  through  old  age,  failure  of  faculty,  exhaustion 
of  power  ?  He  cannot,  if  ever  he  gave  himself  to  it  at  the 
cross,  under  the  baptism  of  blood.  We  are  not  called  to  this 
ministry  by  men,  nor  by  men  can  we  be  dismissed  from  it. 
If  we  be  true  ministers,  we  are  the  servants  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  from  him  only  can  we  obtain  our  release.  That  a 
man  may  throw  himself  out  of  it  by  giving  Christ  the  treacherous 
kiss,  by  selling  his  Lord  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver, — that 
a  man  may  thrust  himself  out  of  it  thus  by  unfaithfulness 
and  un worthiness,  is  the  very  tragic  point  of  spiritual  history  : 
but  so  long  as  the  man  is  broken-hearted,  penitent,  contrite, 
loving,  his  whole  soul  set  in  the  direction  of  heaven's  beckoning 
hand,  he  will  never  think  of  giving  up  the  ministry;  when  he 
dies  it  will  be  but  to  exchange  the  helmet  for  the  crown.  Let  us 
live  in  the  spirit  of  humility,  true,  genuine  spiritual  modesty, 
knowing  that  all  the  advantage  of  religion  is  upon  our  side, 
and  that  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  add  to  God's  dignity. 

Whilst  all  this  may  be  readily  acknowledged,  perhaps  our 
consent  may  be  more  reluctant. to  the  next  point.  Were  Ehphaz 
amongst  us  to-day  he  would  be  what  is  termed  a  personal 
preacher.  That  preacher  is  never  popular.  If  a  minister  would 
be  "  popular  " — whatever  the  meaning  of  that  word  may  be — 
he  must  preach  to  the  absentees  ;  smite  the  Agnostics,  hip  and 
thigh ;  pour  lava  upon  the  Mormons  who  are  thousand  miles 
away  :  but  he  must  not  speak  to  the  man  in  the  nearest  pew. 
Eliphaz  comes  amongst  us  like  a  fire.  He  is  skilful  in  the 
cruel  art  of  cross-examination.     To  Job  he  said, — 

"  Is  not  thy  wickedness  great  ?  and  thine  iniquities  infinite  ?  "  (v.  5). 

The  man  who  could  preach  so  would  not  vary  his  method 
on  account  of  circumstances.  He  addressed  Job  personally. 
The  preacher  who  speaks  to  thousands  of  men  must  bring 
himself  to  feel  that  after   all    he   is   only  addressing  one  man. 


Jobxxii.]      THE  LAST  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ.  221 

There  is  only  one  man,  if  we  could  see  things  in  their  reality ; 
multitudinous  are  the  details  :  but  address  the  one  man,  aim 
at  the  one  target.  The  more  we  become  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  preaching,  the  less  shall  we  care  about  the  mere  numbers 
who  listen  to  us ;  we  do  not  reject  them,  or  undervalue  them, 
but  the  more  will  the  value  of  the  one  man  rise,  so  that  a 
little  child  shall  be  a  congregation,  one  listener  worthy  of  all 
the  resources  of  learning  and  eloquence  we  may  be  able  to 
control.  The  young  preacher  is  afraid  of  the  wet  day,  because 
he  has  written  a  most  elaborate  discourse  which  he  intended 
the  whole  congregation  to  hear — and  to  admire.  He  will  out- 
grow that.  Be  patient  with  him  now.  Efflorescence  in  youth 
is  natural  and  seasonable.  By-and-by  he  will  not  know  whether 
it  is  raining,  or  shining,  or  thundering :  the  whole  truth  will 
be  in  him,  and  must  be  uttered  to  any  soul  that  may  be  present 
to  hear  it 

Eliphaz  accuses  Job  specifically.     He  says,—- 

"For  thou  hast  taken  a  pledge*  from  thy  brother  for  nought,  and  stripped 
the  naked  of  their  clothing.  Thou  hast  not  given  water  to  the  weary  to 
drinfe,  and  thou  hast  withholden  bread  from  the  hungry  "  (v.  6,  7). 

Do  not  run  off  with  the  devil's  suggestion  that  these  are 
Oriental  terms;  they  are  modern  words.  The  colouring  may 
be  eastern,  but  the  genius  of  the  accusation  is  eastern  and 
western,  northern  and  southern,  wide  as  the  world,  detailed 
as  the  varieties  of  the  human  species.  Is  it  possible  that  men 
may  say.  What  is  the  meaning  of  taking  a  pledge  from  thy 
brother  for  nought,  and  stripping  the  naked  of  their  clothing? 
What  is  the  meaning  of  not  giving  water  to  the  weary  to  drink  ? 
Is  it  possible  to  grammarise  these  words,  vivisect  them,  to 
understand  their  Oriental  allusion,  and  to  escape  their  immediate 
and  mortal  application  to  ourselves?  We  have  not  done  this 
in  the  letter,  yet  every  day  we  may  be  doing  it  in  the  spirit. 
Do  we  crush  the  poor  ?  Do  we  make  the  poor  man  feel  that 
his  poverty  is  a  crime  ?  Do  we  snub  him  and  humiliate 
him  because  he  is  poor  ?  whereas  we  should  crouch  before 
the  same  man  were  he  a  millionaire, — the  same  man,  without 

•  See  note,  page  224. 


222  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxii. 

more   mental   capacity,    literary  resource,   spiritual   refinement ! 
It  is  not  enough  to  find  out  just  what  Eliphaz  meant  in  these 
lines :  what  he  meant  in  the  spirit  is  what  we  ought  to  be  in 
quest   of.     Have    we   contemned    the  weak  ?     Have  we  turned 
our  poor  brother  into  an  occasion  of  jibing  and  sneering  ?     Have 
we    been    deaf    to    entreaty  ?      Have   we    pleaded    excess    of 
business,  extremity  of  position,    dignity   of  office,    so    that   we 
might    turn    away  from  him  who  had   a   prayer   to    breathe  to 
our  benevolence  and  clemency  ?     Away  with  all  merely  literal 
orthodoxy,  if  it  be  not  supported  by  the  broader  orthodoxy  of  love, 
s}mpathy,  and  sacrifice.     Eliphaz  would  not  hesitate  to  remind 
us  of  broken  vows ;  he  would  give  us  day  and  date ;  he  would 
remind    us  'that   we   told    God    that   if    he   would    save   us    in 
a  given  extremity  we  would  serve  Him  evermore ;  and  Eliphaz 
would  lay  his   hand    upon  us,  and  look  at  us  as  fire  only  can 
look,  and  ask  us  whether  we  have  redeemed  the  vow.     This  is 
the  only  preaching  worthy  of  any  attention,  namely,  preaching  that 
goes  to  the  immediate  case,  the  real,  actual,  concrete  experience 
of  the   hearer.     Nor  will  it   always   come  with   judgment   and 
accusation ;  it  will  often  come  as  the  rain,  as  the  dew,  as  a  still 
small  voice.      We  do  injustice  to  God  if  we  suppose  that  by 
personal  preaching  is  always  and  only  meant  accusatory  preaching. 
There  is  consolatory  personal  preaching.     There  are  brave  men 
who  are  fighting  hard  battles — at  home,  in  the  market-place,  in 
their  own  hearts,  in  the  Church,  in  the  State;  and  he  is  the 
preacher  sent  of  God  who  will  recognise  the  existence  and  neces- 
sity of  such  men,  and  will  make  them  strong  by  brotherly  prayer, 
and  by  brotherly  sympathy  and  exhortation.     The  preacher  can 
never  be  wrong  in  speaking  to  broken  hearts.     There  may  be 
only  a  few  learned  men  or  critics  in  his  congregation,  but  there 
are  many  blighted  lives,  broken  hearts,  wounded  spirits, — men 
lost  in  thick  fogs,  mental  and  spiritual ;  souls  tormented  of  the 
devil   by   unnamable   temptations.     Therefore   in   our   personal 
preaching  we  must  not  always  play  the  part  of  impeachment, 
but  must  remember  the  part  of  consolation  and  sympathy,  sweet 
advice  and  generous  comfort ;  then  they  that  are  ready  to  perish 
will  bless  us,  and  souls  that  came  into  the  sanctuary  weary  and 
overborne,  will  return  to  their  work  nerved,  and  strengthened, 
and  blessed. 


Jobxxii]      THE  LAST  SPEECH  OF  ELIPHAZ,  tzi 

Eliphaz,  then,  were  he  amongst  us,  would  avail  himself  of 
history  in  support  of  the  exhortation : — 

"  Hast  thou  marked  the  old  way  which  wicked  men  have  trodden  ?  which 
were  cut  down  out  of  time,  whose  fonndation  was  overflown  with  a  flood : 
which  said  unto  God,  Depart  from  us :  and  what  can  the  Almighty  do  for 
them?"  (vv.  15-17). 

That  also  is  practical  preaching.     Eliphaz  claims  all  history  as 
his  book  of  anecdotes.     Why  invent  stories,   when   the  whole 
experience  of  mankind  goes  to  show  that  wickedness  never  comes 
to  a  good  end,  and  that  the  way  of  transgressors  is  hard  ?     Let  us 
keep  to  history,  and  then  we  cannot  be  dislodged  from  our  position. 
Stand  by  the  realities  of  life — not  as  seen  within  any  given  five 
minutes,  but  as  spreading  themselves  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  history — and  we  shall  find  written  upon  all  the  pages 
of  the  past  the  fact  that  God  is  against  the  wicked  man,  the  stars 
in  their  courses  fight  against  wickedness,  and  that  only  judgment 
and  fiery  indignation  can  be  the  portion  of  those  who  violate  the 
spirit  of  obedience  and  defy  the  spirit  of  law.     Blessed  be  God, 
we  need   not  trust  to  our  invention  in  the   discharge   of  this 
solemn  ministry :  all  facts  are  ours,  all  history  is  our  book  of 
evidences ;  we  do  not  bandy  opinions  with  men  equally  able  or 
still  more  skilful  than  we  are ;   if  they  have  discovered  laws, 
so  have  Christian  thinkers,   and  one  of  those  laws  is  that  God 
punishes  iniquity  with  everlasting  punishment,  if  the  man  guilty 
of  it  do  not  repent  and  seek  the  sanctuary  of  the  cross.     If  any 
man  had  said  so  only  yesterday,  we  should  have  said.  Let  time 
try  him.     It  is  not  yesterday,  as  the  last  day  gone,  that  speaks 
to  us,   but  all  time's  yesterdays,    the  thousands   multiplied    by 
thousands  and   millions, — they  all  stand,  as  it  were,  upon  the 
horizon,  and  say,  Preacher,  speak  up,  fear  not ;  tell  the  wicked 
man  that  all  God's  omnipotence  is  against  him,  and  he  must  perish 
in  the  tremendous  conflict.     And  is  there  not  another  side  also 
to  this  ?     Has  history  nothing  to  say  about  the  good,  the  true,  the 
pure,  the  wise  ?     Is  not  God  a  sun  and  a  shield  ?     Will  he  with- 
hold any  good  thing  from  them  that  walk  uprightly  ?     Has  he 
not  promised  them  an  exceeding  great  reward  ?     And  yet  has  he 
not  wrought  in  them  a  miracle  of  grace  that  without  thinking  of 
the  reward  they  would  die  for  the  cross  of  his  Son  ?     This  is  our 
mission.     If  we  cannot  preach  as  Eliphaz  preached,  we  ought  to 


224  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxii. 

vacate  the  pulpit,  and  leave  stronger  men  to  occupy  it.  We  want 
no  new  inventions,  no  curiously  coloured  hypotheses ;  we  want 
the  old  revelation  spoken  with  the  modern  accent — eternal  truth 
offered  to  men  in  language  they  can  understand — the  awful  aifec- 
tion  of  God  for  the  human  race,  represented  in  the  cross  of  Christ, 
preached  as  a  sweet  gospel,  always  ending  with  a  loving  invita- 
tion, such  as,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest;"  "If  any  man  thirst,  let  him 
come  unto  me  and  drink."  Speak  these  words;  the  men  may 
not  be  thirsting  now,  but  when  the  fire  burns  them,  memory 
will  be  awakened,  they  will  say.  Where  heard  we  words  about 
water  that  could  quench  this  thirst?  and  when  they  ask  the 
question,  your  opportunity  will  have  come. 


NOTE. 

The  law  of  Moses  did  not  contemplate  any  raising  of  loans  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  capital,  a  condition  perhaps  alluded  to  in  the  parables  of  the 
"pearl"  and  "hidden  treasure"  (Matt.  xiii.  44,  45).  Such  persons  as 
bankers  and  sureties,  in  the  commercial  sense  (Prov.  xxii.  26,  Neh.  v.  3), 
were  unknown  to  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth.  The  Law 
strictly  forbade  any  interest  to  be  taken  for  a  loan  to  any  poor  person,  either 
in  the  shape  of  money  or  of  produce,  and  at  first,  as  it  seems,  even  in  the 
case  of  a  foreigner;  but  this  prohibition  was  afterwards  limited  to  Hebrews 
only,  from  whom,  of  whatever  rank,  not  only  was  no  usury  on  any  pretence 
to  be  exacted,  but  relief  to  the  poor  by  way  of  loan  was  enjoined,  and 
excuses  for  evading  this  duty  were  forbidden  (Exod.  xxii.  25  ;  Lev.  xxv.  35, 
37;  Deut.  xv.  3,  7-10,  xxiii.  19,  20).  The  instances  of  extortionate 
conduct  mentioned  with  disapprobation  in  the  Book  of  Job  probably 
represent  a  state  of  things  previous  to  the  Law,  and  such  as  the  Law  was 
intended  to  remedy  (Job  xxii.  6,  xxiv.  3,  7).  As  commerce  increased,  the 
practice  of  usury,  and  so  also  of  suretiship,  grew  up ;  but  the  exaction  of  it 
from  a  Hebrew  appears  to  have  been  regarded  to  a  late  period  as  dis- 
creditable (Prov.  vi.  I,  4,  xi.  15,  xvii.  18,  xx.  16,  xxii.  26;  Psalm  xv.  5, 
xxvii.  13;  Jer.  xv.  10 ;  Ezek.  xviii.  13,  xxii.  12).  Systematic  breach  of  the 
law  in  this  respect  was  corrected  by  Nehemiah  after  the  return  from  captivity. 
In  later  times  the  practice  of  borrowing  money  appears  to  have  prevailed 
without  limitation  of  race,  and  to  have  been  carried  on  on  systematic 
principles,  though  the  original  spirit  of  the  Law  was  approved  by  our 
Lord  (Matt.  v.  42,  xxv.  27;  Luke  vi.  35,  xix.  23).  The  money-changers 
{KepixaTiarat,  and  KoWv^iaraL),  who  had  seats  and  tables  in  the  Temple, 
were  traders  whose  profits  arose  chiefly  from  the  exchange  of  money  with 
those  who  came  to  pay  their  annual  half-shekel  (Matt.  xxi.  12).  The 
documents  relating  to  loans  of  money  appear  to  have  been  deposited  in 
public  offices  in  Jerusalem. — Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  BibU, 


Job  xxii.  21-30. 

21.  Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him,  and  be  at  peace :  thereby  good  shall 
come  unto  thee. 

22.  Receive,  I  pray  thee,  the  law  from  his  mouth,  and  lay  up  his  words 
in  thine  heart 

23.  If  thou  return  to  the  Almighty,  thou  shalt  be   built  up,  thou  shalt 
put  away  iniquity  far  from   thy  tabernacles. 

24.  Then  shalt  thou  lay  up  gold  as  dust,  and  the  gold  of  Ophir  as  the 
stones  of  the  brooks. 

25.  Yea,  the  Almighty  shall  be  thy  defence,  and  thou  shalt  have  plenty 
of  silver. 

26.  For  then  shalt  thou  have  thy  delight  in  the  Almighty,  and  shalt  lift 
up  thy  face  unto  God. 

27.  Thou  shalt  make  thy  prayer  unto  him,  and  he  shall  hear  thee,  and 
thou  shalt  pay  thy  vows. 

28.  Thou  shalt  also  decree  a  thing,  and  it  shall  be  established  unto  thee : 
and  the  light  shall  shine  upon  thy  ways. 

29.  When  men  are  cast  down,  then  thou  shalt  say,  There  is  liTting  up; 
and  he  shall  save  the  humble  person. 

30.  He  shall  deliver  the  island  of  the  innocent :  and  it  is  delivered  by  the 
pureness  of  thine  hands. 

RECONCILIATION  AND  RESULTS. 

THAT  is  all  the  three  friends  could,  in  substance,  say.  It  is 
difficult  to  read  the  exhortation  of  another  man.  We  are, 
indeed,  apt  to  put  our  own  tone  into  all  reading,  and  thereby 
sometimes  we  may  do  grievous  injustice  to  the  authors  or 
speakers  whom  we  seek  to  interpret.  Of  one  thing,  however, 
we  may  be  quite  sure,  namely,  that  when  a  man  so  seer-like,  so 
prophet-like  as  Eliphaz,  concluded  his  controversy  with  Job, 
observing  the  suffering  and  the  sorrow  of  the  patriarch,  he  would 
be  certain  to  drop  his  voice  into  the  music  of  consolation,  and 
would  endeavour,  whilst  speaking  words  of  apparently  legal  and 
mechanical  preciseness,  to  utter  them  with  the  tone  of  the  heart, 
as  if  in  the  very  sorrow  were  hidden  a  gracious  gospel,  and  as 
if  duty  might,  by  some  subtle  power,  be  turned  into  the  most 

VOL.   XI.  *  15 


226  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.        Qobxxii.21-30. 

precious  of  delight.  All  hortatory  words  may  be  spoken  with  too 
much  voice,  with  too  strong  a  tone,  so  as  to  throw  them  out  of 
proportion  in  relation  to  the  hearer,  whose  sorrow  already  fills 
his  ears  with  mufQed  noises.  Let  us  imagine  Eliphaz — eldest  of 
the  counsellors,  most  gracious  of  the  speakers — laying  his  hand, 
as  it  were,  gently  upon  the  smitten  patriarch,  and  approaching 
his  ear  with  all  the  reverence  of  affectionate  confidence,  and 
giving  him  these  parting  instructions:  then  the  exhortation 
becomes  music ;  the  preacher  does  not  thunder  his  appeal,  but 
utters  it  persuasively,  so  that  the  heart  alone  may  hear  it,  and 
the  soul  be  melted  by  the  plea.  May  it  not  be  so  with  us  also  ? 
We  do  not  need  the  strong  exhortation,  but  we  do  need  the  con- 
solatory appeal  and  stimulus.  We  may  frighten  a  man  by  calling 
out  very  loudly  when  he  is  within  one  inch  of  a  brink ;  the 
nearer  the  man  is  to  the  precipice,  the  more  subdued,  the  less 
startling,  should  be  the  appeal :  we  might  whisper  to  him  as  if 
nothing  were  the  matter, — rather  lure  his  attention  than  loudly 
and  roughly  excite  it;  and  then  when  we  get  firm  hold  of  him 
bring  him  away  to  the  headland  as  urgently  and  strongly  as  we 
can.  May  it  not  be  that  some  hearts  are  so  far  gone  that  one 
rude  tone  from  the  preacher  would  break  up  what  little  hope 
remains  ?  Should  we  not  rather  sometimes  sit  down  quite 
closely  to  one  another  and  say  softly,  "Acquaint  now  thyself 
with  him,  and  be  at  peace  " :  think  of  what  all  thy  life  comes  to, 
poor  soul,  and  see  if  even  now,  just  at  the  very  last,  the  flickering 
lamp  cannot  be  revived  and  made  strong  and  bright :  come,  let 
us  pray  ?  Who  can  tell  in  what  tone  the  Lord  said,  "  Come  now, 
and  let  us  reason  together,"  as  if  we  were  equals ;  for  the  time 
being  let  us  be  as  brothers ;  let  the  case  be  stated  on  both  sides, 
and  argued  out  with  all  the  urgency  and  zeal  of  truest  love  ? 
Never  regard  the  Gospel  as  having  come  roughly,  violently,  but 
as  always  coming  like  the  dawn,  like  the  dew,  like  music  from 
afar,  which  having  travelled  from  eternity  stops  to  accommodate 
itself  to  the  limitations  of  time.  Still  the  exhortation  has  the 
strength  within  it.  Speak  it  as  we  may,  it  is  the  strongest 
exhortation  that  can  be  addressed  to  human  attention.  You  may 
soften  it  as  to  tone,  you  may  pray  God  for  many  days  that  when 
you  do  come  to  utter  your  message  you  may  speak  it  without 
ofience,  lovingly,  tenderly,  with  a  voice  full  of  tears ;  yet,  even 


Jobxxii.2i-30.]    RECONCILIATION  AND  RESULTS.      227 

when  so  spoken,  the  Gospel  has  within  it  fite  and  sword  and  force 
almighty.  When  the  tone  is  softened,  it  is  not  that  the  law  has 
given  up  the  pursuit  of  the  soul,  or  has  ceased  to  press  its  infinite 
claims  upon  the  trespasser.  Do  not  mistake  the  persuasions  of 
the  Gospel  for  the  weaknesses  of  the  preacher,  and  do  not  regard 
the  errors  of  the  preacher  as  implying  in  any  degree  defect  on 
the  part  of  his  message. 

Eliphaz  tells  Job  what  he  must  do ;  let  us  read  his  bill  of 
directions:  ''Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him."  Here  is  a  call 
to  mental  action.  Job  is  invited  to  bethink  himself.  He  is 
exhorted  to  put  himself  at  the  right  point  of  view.  Instead  of 
dealing  with  social  questions  and  personal  details,  the  seer 
invites  the  smitten  patriarch  to  betake  himself  to  the  sanctuary, 
and  to  work  out  the  whole  solution  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God, 
There  are  amongst  men  questions  that  are  supreme  and  questions 
that  are  inferior.  Who  would  care  for  the  inferior  if  he  could 
solve  the  supreme,  and  fill  himself  with  all  the  mystery  of  Deity  ? 
What  are  all  our  inventions,  arts,  sciences,  and  cleverest  tricks, 
and  boldest  adventures  into  the  region  of  darkness,  compared 
with  the  possibility  of  knowing  human  thought — the  power  of 
removing  the  veil  that  separates  man  from  man,  and  looking  into 
the  arcana  of  another  soul  ?  But  this  is  kept  back  from  us.  We 
are  permitted  to  dig  foundations,  to  build  towers  and  temples  ; 
we  are  allowed  to  span  rivers  with  bridges,  and  bore  our  way 
through  rocky  hills ;  but  we  cannot  tell  what  the  least  little  child 
is  thinking  about.  Given  the  possibility  that  a  man  may,  by  a 
certain  process  of  study,  qualify  himself  to  read  all  that  is  in  our 
minds,  who  would  not  avail  himself  of  that  opportunity  with 
eagerness  and  gratitude  I  All  other  learning  would  be  contemp- 
tible in  comparison  with  an  attainment  so  vast  and  useful.  This 
is  the  explanation  of  men  spending  their  days  over  crucibles,  in 
hidden  places,  in  darkened  dungeons,  seeking  in  the  crucible  for 
the  particular  Something  that  would  dissolve  everything  that  was 
hard,  and  reveal  everything  that  was  dark.  This  is  the  meaning 
of  the  quest  in  which  men  have  been  engaged  for  the  Sangreal, 
the  philosopher's  stone — that  marvellous  and  unnamable  some- 
thing which,  if  a  man  had,  he  would  open  every  kingdom  and  be 
at  home  in  every  province  of  the  universe.     You  cannot  kill  that 


^fe-^ 


228  THE  PEOPLE* S  BIBLE,       [Job  xxii.  21-30. 


mysterious  ambition  of  the  human  heart.  It  will  come  up  in 
some  form.  It  is  the  secret  of  progress.  Even  when  men  say 
they  have  renounced  the  quest,  they  may  be  most  busily  engaged 
in  the  pursuit ;  when  they  seem  to  be  most  practical  and  sober- 
minded,  and  to  have  given  up  all  thought  whatever  of  sitting 
upon  the  circle  of  the  heavens,  there  may  be  something  in  their 
hearts  which  says.  You  are  only  resting  awhile ;  even  yet  you 
will  receive  the  secret,  and  turn  it  to  highest  uses.  All  this 
leads  to  the  uppermost  thought,  namely,  that  if  a  man  could 
acquaint  himself  with  God,  live  with  God,  would  not  that  be  the 
very  highest  attainment  of  all  ?  If  he  could  enter  the  tabernacles 
of  the  Most  High,  and  survey  the  universe  from  the  altar  where 
burns  the  Shekinah,  what  would  all  other  attainments  and 
acquisitions  amount  to  ?  Yet  this  is  the  thing  to  be  aimed  at : 
grow  in  grace ;  grow  in  all  life ;  for  it  means,  in  its  fruition, 
acquaintance  with  God,  identification  with  God,  absorption  in 
God ;  living,  moving,  having  the  being  in  God ;  taking  God's 
view  of  everything ;  made  radiant  with  God's  wisdom,  and  calm 
with  God's  peace.  Assuming  that  to  be  a  possibility,  how  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the  glory  thereof,  fade  away  into 
the  dim  distance  I  How  grandly  some  of  the  old  seers  now  and 
again  touched  the  vital  point;  and  how  the  ages  have  thrilled 
with  their  touch,  knowing  that  at  last  they  had  left  detail  and 
cloud  and  mystification,  and  touched  the  very  pulse  of  things  I 
Here  stands  the  great  truth,  the  eternal  verity  :  until  we  have 
acquainted  ourselves  with  God,  by  means  prescribed  in  God's 
own  book,  our  knowledge  is  ignorance,  and  our  mental  acquisi- 
tions are  but  so  many  proofs  of  our  mental  incapacity.  Eliphaz, 
therefore,  lifts  up  the  whole  discussion  to  a  new  level.  He  will 
not  point  to  this  wound  or  that,  to  the  sore  boil  or  blain,  to  the 
withering  skin,  to  the  patriarch's  pitiful  physical  condition  ;  he 
begins  now  to  touch  the  great  mystery  of  things,  namely,  that  God 
is  in  all  the  cloud  of  affliction,  in  all  the  wilderness  of  poverty, 
and  that  to  know  his  purpose  is  to  live*in  his  tranquillity. 

Then  Eliphaz  says — "  Receive,  I  pray  thee,  the  law  from  his 
mouth  " :  do  not  have  second-hand  references,  do  not  be  content 
with  what  other  people  have  said  \  but  go  straight  to  the  fountain- 
head  :  there  is  a  law — a  law  of  event,  accident,  progress,  providence, 


Jobxxii.2i-3o.]    RECONCILIATION  AND  RESULTS,      229 

retribution  ;  a  law  of  light  and  darkness ;  a  law  that  comes  and 
goes  like  the  revolving  seasons :  there  may  be  even  now,  poor 
Job,  some  scraps  of  written  law  :  consider  everything ;  take  in 
knowledge  from  every  quarter ;  if  light  shall  shine  from  unex- 
pected points,  look  for  it,  examine  it ;  if  it  be  light  indeed,  receive 
it,  and  be  thankful  for  it.  We  need  the  strong  word  Law — ^just 
as  we  need  great  corner-stones  in  the  building,  and  solid  beams 
here  and  there  in  the  edifice.  There  may  be  in  the  building 
an  abundance  of  colour,  and  gold,  and  fine  artistic  display;  but 
somewhere  in  the  building,  if  it  have  to  stand  winter  and 
summer,  there  must  be  iron,  solid  woodwork,  massive  blocks  of 
stone,  and  great  beams  of  wood.  So  in  the  life-house  there  may 
be  decoration,  intellectual  accomplishment,  all  manner  of  fancy 
characteristics  and  advantages,  but  if  that  life-house  is  to  stand 
when  the  sea  roars,  when  the  mountains  shake,  when  all  things 
are  tried,  there  must  be  in  it  depth,  solidity,  massiveness, 
obedience  to  the  geometry  of  the  universe,  complete  harmony 
with  all  the  forces  that  secure  the  stability  and  permanence  of 
material  things.  We  cannot  escape  this  pressure.  We  speak 
about  the  law  as  if  it  infringed  liberty ;  whereas  the  law  is  the 
very  secret  of  liberty,  its  security,  and  its  crown.  Is  there  any 
law  in  our  spiritual  life,  any  sovereignty  in  the  very  charity 
which  softens  our  heart  ?  Is  there  any  righteousness  behind  to 
account  for  the  beauties  that  are  scattered  upon  the  surface  ?  Is 
the  blossoming  at  the  top  of  the  tree  fastened  on  artificially  ?  or 
does  it  come  up  from  the  black  root  and  tell  that  its  life  is  hidden 
in  the  sun  ?  We  have  read  of  men  who,  having  received  the 
word  of  God  gladly,  went  out  and  forgot  all  about  it,  and  became 
their  old  selves  again,  because  there  was  no  deepness  of  earth — 
let  us  say  now,  because  there  was  no  law,  righteousness, 
sovereignty,  government,  founded  upon  wisdom  and  upon  the 
innermost  and  completest  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

*'  And  lay  up  his  words  in  thine  heart "  :  dispossess  the  heart 
of  all  bad  notions  by  filling  it  with  all  true  ideas ;_  do  not  have 
one  little  corner  in  the  heart  where  you  can  put  a  sophism ;  let 
the  heart  be  so  stored  with  Christly  words  and  Christly  wisdom 
that  there  shall  be  no  room  in  it  for  any  superstition.  That  is 
the  only  plan   of  true  education,   and   the   only  guarantee  of 


230  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,        [Job  xxii.  21-30. 

ultimate  complete  manhood.  "  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in 
you  richly."  Do  not  have  part  of  God's  word  and  part  of  some 
other  word  locked  up  in  the  heart  together,  like  the  ark  as  it  was 
locked  up  with  Dagon ;  but  fill  the  whole  heart  with  God's 
words :  they  are  music,  they  are  law,  they  are  gospel,  they  are 
light,  they  are  comfort,  they  are  bread  for  the  hungry,  and  living 
water  for  burning  thirst.  Feed  upon  the  divine  word.  Lord, 
evermore  give  us  this  bread  !  Eliphaz  is  now  a  gospel  preacher, 
a  great  evangelist ;  he  cannot  tell  the  whole  range  of  what  he 
is  saying ;  the  morning  is  not  the  midday,  the  spring  is  not  the 
autumn ;  but  it  lies  in  the  right  line  of  it ;  the  autumnal  golden 
glory  will  come  in  due  time :  "  in  the  process  of  the  suns "  we 
shall  see  the  words  of  Eliphaz  completed  in  the  words  of  Christ. 

"  If  thou  return  to  the  Almighty  "  certain  results  will  accrue. 
What  are  those  results  ?  Reconstruction  :  "  thou  shalt  be  built 
up."  Comforting  word !  We  know  what  it  is  to  be  shattered, 
broken  all  to  pieces,  to  have  lost  our  squareness  and  completeness, 
our  hold  of  things  and  our  entire  status,  and  we  know  by  bitter 
experience  what  it  is  to  be  dashed  to  atoms.  Sin  leaves  no  man 
whole ;  evil-doing  is  destruction  :  it  tears  a  man  as  it  were  limb 
from  limb,  and  delights  in  seeing  him  broken  up,  thrown  into 
hopeless  incoherence.  The  very  first  thing  true  religion  does 
is  to  gather  a  man  up  again ;  it  seems  to  say  to  him,  We  must 
begin  with  reconstruction  :  what  are  you  ?  where  are  you  ?  let 
us  grapple  with  the  reality  of  the  situation,  however  tragical, 
however  hopeless  it  may  be.  To  tell  a  man  that  he  may  be 
built  up  again  is  to  give  him  hope.  Say  to  some  poor  overthrown 
one.  Come  now !  you  are  not  always  to  live  like  this  :  there  is 
hope  for  you ;  even  you  can  be  put  in  joint  again,  even  you  can 
be  gathered  up  by  the  miracle  of  the  Holy  Ghost  working  within 
you,  the  miracle  of  grace :  even  you  can  be  made  a  man, — 
and  at  first  the  answer  may  be  sullen — not  because  of  obduracy 
of  heart,  but  because  of  hopelessness  of  spirit — but  the  man 
will  turn  the  words  over  in  his  heart,  he  will  take  them  home 
with  him ;  when  the  feast  spread  for  the  body  is  all  consumed  he 
will  say,  I  have  bread  to  eat  that  these  people  know  not  of :  a 
good  brave  man  told  me  in  the  city  to-day  that  I,  even  I,  could 
be  built  up  again :   oh,  God  of  heaven,  is  that  true  ?  is  that  a 


Jobxxii.2i-30.]    RECONCILIATION  AND  RESULTS.      231 

possible  miracle  ?  can  this  bewildered  head  be  made  steady 
again  ?  and  can  these  lips  pray  any  more  ?  Who  can  tell  what 
the  angels  may  say  to  the  sohloquist  then  ?  Man  likes  to  think 
that  he  can  be  built  up,  re-established,  and  comforted  with  great 
consolation.  This  is  what  the  Gospel  says,  or  it  is  no  gospel : 
"  Behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy."  What  are  they  ? 
that  the  lost  may  be  found,  that  the  dead  may  live :  believest 
thou  this  ?  All  things  are  possible  unto  him  that  believeth.  Say, 
in  all  broken-heartedness — for  that  is  the  beginning  of  strength — 
*'  Lord,  I  believe ;  help  thou  mine  unbelief." 

Then  Eliphaz,  working  according  to  the  light  of  his  time, 
makes  Job  a  great  promise  of  silver  and  gold  ;  he  says  : 

"Then  shalt  thou  lay  up  gold  as  dust,  and  the  gold  of  Ophir  [see  note, 
p.  234]  as  the  stones  of  the  brooks.  Yea,  the  Almighty  shall  be  thy  defence, 
and  thou  shalt  have  plenty  of  silver"  (vv.  24,  25). 

Was  the  motive  a  bad  one  ?  Nothing  of  the  kind  ;  otherwise 
the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  is  vitiated  by  the  suggestion. 
The  Lord  has  always  worked  upon  this  plan  of  promising  men 
what  they  could  understand,  of  accommodating  his  kingdom  to 
some  form,  parabolic  or  material,  which  might  touch  the 
imagination  and  even  the  senses  of  the  people  whom  he  addressed. 
Thus  the  Lord  said  unto  Abram  :  Arise,  come  away,  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Was  that  an 
appeal  to  a  selfish  motive?  Certainly  not.  It  was  the  only 
appeal  which  Abram  could  then  understand.  The  Lord  promised 
the  patriarchs  length  of  days.  Now  we  would  not  have  length  of 
days,  for  we  are  weary  of  old  grey  time.  The  period  comes 
when  a  man  says,  When  is  the  upper  door  going  to  be  opened  ? 
I  w^ould  not  live  alway ;  I  have  seen  every  revolution  of  this 
little  wheel,  and  I  am  tired  of  watching  the  tautology;  I  know 
spring  and  summer,  and  autumn  and  winter,  and  birth  and 
marriage,  and  death,  and  w^eal  and  woe,  and  loss  and  gain,  and 
book-keeping  and  balancing,  and  profit  and  disadvantage,  and 
sickness  and  recovery  and  dissolution  :  I  am  tired  of  watching 
that  mocking  monotony  :  when  will  the  golden  gates  swing  back, 
and  let  me  pass  where  the  light  is  purer,  and  where  the  service 
is  without  weariness?  Did  God,  then,  appeal  to  a  poor  motive 
when  he  promised  length  of  days?     The  answer  is.  Certainly 


232  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.        [Job xxii.  21-30. 

not ;  he  made  the  only  possible  appeal — that  is,  the  only  appeal 
that  could  be  understood.  *  When  life  was  new,  men  liked 
to  have  plenty  of  it — an  abundance  of  years;  yea,  life  is 
represented  in  the  ancient  books  as  extending  over  centuries 
— four  and  five,  and  six  and  eight,  and  nine  centuries,  and  one 
man  lived  nearly  a  thousand  years  I  So  Eliphaz  was  talking 
in  Old  Testament  language,  in  ancient  and  early  terms,  when 
he  promised  Job  heaps  of  gold  and  plenty  of  silver — "  the 
gold  of  Ophir,"  or  "Ophir,"  which  is  a  symbolical  term  for 
gold  which  could  be  laid  up  like  the  stones  of  the  brooks 
— great  stones,  small  stones,  thousands  and  countless  numbers 
of  stones  of  gold.  Now  we  have  come  to  know  that  we  cannot 
take  away  one  little  pebble  with  us,  that  at  best  we  have  but  the 
handling  of  the  mocking  stuff  for  a  few  years,  and  then,  however 
anxious  we  may  be  to  begin  the  next  world  rich  with  gold,  we 
must  start  God's  next  world  without  a  single  penny.  Eliphaz 
was  not  appealing  to  selfish  motive,  to  mean  ambition;  nor 
was  he  degrading  the  kingdom  of  peace  and  light  and  pureness 
when  he  thus  promised  Job  reward  of  gold  and  silver ;  he  was 
speaking  up  to  his  last  point  of  light  and  attainment.  Now,  what 
is  promised  to  us?  All  heaven ^  Blessed  be  God,  we  have 
been  born  at  a  period  when  the  next  word  is  "heaven."  That 
brings  us  very  near  to  God's  ultimate  purpose.  Abram  was  born 
in  a  time  when  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  filled  his 
imagination.  Old  Testament  men  lived  in  times  when  length 
of  days  was  the  only  possible  notion  of  duration.  We  live 
in  a  time  when  life  and  immortality  have  been  brought  to  light 
in  the  Gospel,  and  now  we  want  no  lands  flowing  with  milk  and 
noney,  or  Ophir,  or  silver  in  plentifulness,  except  for  immediate 
convenience  and  transient  purposes.  We  seek  a  country  out  of 
sight.  We  attest  the  progress  of  spiritual  civilisation  by  being 
afflicted  with  an  ambition  which  nothing  can  satisfy  but  God's 
own  dwelling-place — the  very  heavens  of  eternity. 

Then  Eliphaz  promised  Job  a  plentiful  intercourse  with  God  :— 
"  For  then  shalt  thou  have  thy  delight  in  the  Almighty,  and  shalt  lift  up 

thy  face  unto  God.    Thou  shalt  make  thy  prayer  unto  him,  and  he  shall 

hedr  thee,  and  thou  shalt  pay  thy  vows  "  (vv.  26,  27). 

There  shall  be  a  highway  between  heaven  and  the  soul,  and  the 
commerce  carried  on  shall  be  of  the  highest  quality  and   the 


Ad 


Job xxii. 21-30.]    RECONCILIATION  AND  RESULTS,      233      ^^ 

largest  degree :  a  prayer  will  mean  an  answer ;  a  look  shall 
mean  an  interposition  in  thy  favour ;  a  throb  shall  fill  all  heaven 
with  the  solicitude  of  love;  for  God  will  hasten  to  thee  to 
perform  the  thing  thou  hast  desired.  Call  this  poetry,  and  you 
do  but  attest  the  coldness  of  your  own  temperament ;  regard  this 
as  spiritual  romance,  and  you  only  betray  your  own  carnality  and 
materialism.  It  is  romance  to  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  blind  and 
dead.  The  summer  is  romance  to  the  man  born  blind.  He  says 
to  himself  whilst  you  are  enraptured  with  summer's  parable  of 
colour.  How  mad  these  people  are,  how  wild,  how  exaggerated 
in  expression  I  There  is  no  bound  or  limit  to  their  vagary ; 
talking  of  nature  as  a  parable,  speaking  of  summer  as  the  very 
kingdom  and  reign  of  colour;  talking  of  heaven  in  ecstatic 
language,  because  it  is  so  purple,  so  translucent,  so  opal,  so 
beriched  with  many-coloured  clouds, — as  if  the  Creator  had 
adorned  it  with  a  coat  of  many  colours  just  to  titillate  their 
fancy  :  poor  fools,  how  they  rave  where  they  do  not  understand  ! 
The  man  is  right  from  his  point  of  view,  because  he  sees  nothing 
but  darkness,  and  dwells  in  perpetual  night ;  but  let  those  say 
whether  summer  is  a  romance  who  have  gazed  upon  all  her 
wizardry  of  colour  and  beauty,  and  who  have  listened  to  all 
her  tones  of  music 

But  Eliphaz  also  points  out  a  result  which  is  full  of  practical 
instruction  : — 

'•  When  men  are  cast  down,  then  thou  shalt  say,  There  is  lifting  up;  and 
he  shall  save  the  humble  person  "  (v.  29). 

The  meaning  is,  when  you  are  right  with  God,  you  will  be  a 
'fountain  of  consolation  and  strength  to  weak  men.  Wh\v  t^ 
is  an  anticipation  of  the  time  when  the  whole  commandment  of 
God,  ranging  over  every  point  of  life,  shall  be  divisible  into  two 
thoughts — the  love  of  God,  and  the  love  of  neighbour.  "  When 
men  are  cast  down,  then  thou  shalt  say.  There  is  lifting  up." 
And  thou  shalt  prove  it,  for  thou  shalt  say,  I  too  was  cast  down, 
and  behold  I  am  lifted  up ;  I  too  was  broken  in  pieces,  and  now 
I  am  built  and  established,  and  I  enjoy  a  sense  of  incorporation 
with  the  whole  scheme  of  things  planned,  fashioned,  and  formed 
by  the  Living  One.  This  is  the  test  of  our  piety.  How  do 
weak  men  regard  us  ?  Do  they  say  when  listening  to  us.  That 
is  the  man  who  will  help  me  in  trouble ;  that  is  the  counsellor  to 


234  'THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,        [Jobxxii.21-.30 

whom  I  should  go  were  I  in  perplexity;  that  is  the  man  to  whom 
I  would  tell  all  the  tale  of  sin  and  shame,  had  I  such  a  tale  to 
relate;  I  would  seek  him  out,  and  he  would  receive  me  and 
listen  to  me;  he  might  insist  that  I  told  him  everything  that  is  in 
my  heart,  but  having  done  so,  he  would  put  his  strong  arms 
around  me  and  say,  Wanderer,  prodigal,  foolish  soul,  even  yet 
there  is  hope  for  thee  I  Our  piety  is  a  pretence  if  it  be  not 
available  to  men  who  are  in  distress,  in  weakness,  and  in  hope- 
lessness. This  is  the  mystery  of  the  divine  kingdom,  that  it 
does  not  run  up  into  metaphysics  only,  and  lose  itself  in  trans- 
cendent thoughts,  but  that,  having  been  up  there  amid  the 
transfiguring  glory,  it  comes  down  to  heal  the  sick  and  show  the 
wanderer  the  way  straight  home. 


NOTE. 

Ophir  is  a  seaport  or  region  from  which  the  Hebrews,  in  the  time  of 
Solomon,  obtained  gold  in  vessels  which  went  thither  in  conjunction  with 
Tyrian  ships  from  Ezion-geber,  near  Elath,  on  that  branch  of  the  Red  Sea 
which  is  now  called  the  Gulf  of  Akabah.  The  gold  was  proverbial  for  its 
fineness,  so  that  "  gold  of  Ophir "  is  several  times  used  as  an  expression 
for  fine  gold  (Psalm  xlv.  10;  Job  xxviii.  16 ;  Isa.  xiii.  12 ;  i  Chron.  xxix.  4) ; 
and  in  one  passage  (Job  xxii.  24)  the  word  "  Ophir "  by  itself  is  used  for 
gold  of  Ophir,  and  for  gold  generally.  In  addition  to  gold,  the  vessels 
brought  from  Ophir  almug  wood  and  precious  stones. 

The  precise  geographical  situation  of  Ophir  has  long  been  a  subject  of 
doubt  and  discussion.  The  two  countries  which  have  divided  the  opinions 
of  the  learned  have  been  Arabia  and  India,  while  some  have  placed  it  in 
Africa.  There  are  only  five  passages  in  the  historical  books  which  mention 
Ophir  by  name;  three  in  the  Book  of  Kings  (i  Kings  ix.  26-29,  x.  Ii, 
xxii.  48),  and  two  in  the  Book  of  Chronicles  (2  Chron.  viii.  18,  ix.  lo). 
The  latter  were  probably  copied  from  the  former.  In  addition  to  these 
passages,  the  following  verse  in  the  Book  of  Kings  has  very  frequently  been 
referred  to  Ophir  :  "  For  the  king  {i.e.  Solomon)  had  at  sea  a  navy  of 
Tharshish  with  the  navy  of  Hiram :  once  in  three  years  came  the  navy  of 
Tharshish,  bringing  gold  and  silver,  ivory,  and  apes,  and  peacocks"  (i  Kings 
X.  22).  But  there  is  not  sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  the  fleet  mentioned 
in  this  verse  was  identical  with  the  fleet  mentioned  in  i  Kings  ix.  26-29, 
and  I  Kings  x.  1 1,  as  bringing  gold,  almug  trees,  and  precious  stones  from 
Ophir.  If  the  three  passages  of  the  Book  of  Kings  are  carefully  examined, 
it  will  be  seen  that  all  the  information  given  respecting  Ophir  is  that  it  was  a 
place  or  region  accessible  by  sea  from  Ezion-geber  on  the  Red  Sea,  from  which 
imports  of  gold,  almug  trees,  and  precious  stones  were  brought  back  by  the 
Tyrian  and  Hebrew  sailors.— Smith's  Old  Teiiumeni  Hiatoiy. 


Job  zziii. 
JOB'S  REVIEW  OP  THE  CONTROVERSY. 

WITH  the  exception  of  a  short  interruption  by  Bildad, 
the  Shuhite,  the  great  conference  is  at  an  end.  In  the 
twenty-third  and  through  several  succeeding  chapters,  Job  con- 
ducts a  very  striking  and  instructive  colloquy.  The  three  com- 
fortershave  practically  said  all  they  have  to  say,  and  they  have 
left  Job  very  much  as  they  found  him.  They  have  eloquently 
expressed  all  that^they  knew  of  the  way  and  purpose  of  God. 
And  we  must  not  hold  theip  guilty  of  ignorance  ;  they  were  true 
up  to  the  time  in  which  they  lived ;  they  did  the  best  they  could 
for  their  friend.  It  is  easy  to  go  back  from  the  end  of  the  book 
to  the  beginning,  and  to  chastise  them  with  rods ;  but  this  is  not, 
from  a  literary  point  of  view,  fair  or  just.  If  they  had  wilfully 
kept  back  anything,  then  we  might  have  charged  them  with 
selfishness  and  with  injustice  to  the  spirit  of  truth  and  the 
ministry  of  sympathy ;  but  having  made  their  speeches,  one  by 
one,  and  word  by  word,  we  are  hardly  going  too  far  in  saying 
that  they  had  evidently  told  all  they  knew.  There  is  a  good  deal 
in  seeing  a  witniess,  in  hearing  the  tone  of  his  voice,  in  observing 
how  he  conducts  himself  under  examination  and  cross-examina- 
tion. This,  of  course,  is  a  condition  we  cannot  now  enjoy:  but 
all  the  words  are  here,  singular  words  they  are,  full  of  colour,  full 
of  life,  ardent,  resolute,  fearless ;  there  is  no  sign  about  them  of 
anything  being  wantonly  or  purposely  withheld.  It  is  sad  to  see 
men  turn  away  who  came  to  do  us  good,  and  who  have  failed  in 
their  purpose.  Watch  them  retiring !  They  would  have  healed 
Job  if  they  could,  but  they  did  not  know  the  cure  for  this  malady, 
it  was  wholly  unfamiliar ;  maxim,  and  nostrum,  and  moral  law, 
and  well-ascertained  precept,  went  for  nothing  in  the  fierceness 
of  this  unknown  distress.  It  seemed  as  if  they  were  throwing 
pieces  of  paper  into  a  furnace  :  the  paper  was  written  all  ov^  r 


236  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxiii. 

with  good  words,  but  the  fire  crinkled  and  cindered  it.  Thejnen 
had  not  instruments  adapted  to  their  work.  Who  could  empty 
the  Atlantic  with  a  thimble  ?  Their  hands  were  too  short ;  they 
could  not  reach  the  reality  of  the  case.  Many  short-handed 
comforters  there  be;  men  of  httle  strength,  little  knowledge; 
men  of  letters ;  men  of  information  but  not  of  inspiration ;  men 
who  know^  only  what  they  have  been  told,  who  have  never  by 
some  marvellous  spirit  of  strength  forced  themselves  to  new 
positions  along  the  line  of  human  wisdom.  But  a  very  good 
thing  has  been  done :  Jr»h  Vrao  h^^^n  r^rhr^j^  ^>'»''.k  upon  himself. 
He  hag  said,  Nn  ?  ||^ese  men  have  not  touched  the  reality  of  the 

-ra^^  Y?t ;  they  have  had  surgical  instruments  enough,  liniment 
enough,  nostrums  en9ugh^  hnt  they  did  not  know  whTt  disease 
thev  were  treating;  so. their  wisdom  became  folly,  and  their 
energv  y^afitgd  itsel?  in  well-meant  exertions.  It  is  something 
when  a  man  is  driven  back  upon  himself  to  think  religiously. 
Herein  is  a  happy  effect  of  an  imperfect  sermon  :  the  hearer  can 
always  profit  himself  by  delivering  a  better,  silently — if  he  can. 
Herein  is  the  advantage  of  reading  books  that  were  written  under 
the  impression  that  they  would  solve  everything  and  have  ended 
by  solving  nothing.  Could  the  preacher  but  drive  the  hearer 
back  into  his  own  consciousness,  into  the  sanctuary  of  his  own 
thought,  into  the  mystery  of  his  own  being,  and  get  him  to  ask 
great  questions,  there  would  be  some  hope  of  the  Christian 
ministry  even  yet.  Job  said  in  efi'ect :  You  have  not  touched  me : 
you  have  made  a  false  diagnosis  of  my  disease;  you  have  been 
1il^f>  dnrtors  who  havc  been  treating  asthma  as  if  itwere  a^ase 
of  jjieumatism  ;  you  have  been  wrong  in  all  your  inferences 
regarding  my  state ;  in  a  sense  I  could  contemn  you  and  sneer  at 
you :  miserable  comforters  are  ye  all :  the  moment  you  showed 
anything  like  coarseness  and  impertinence  I  felt  angry  with  you ; 
only  when  your  voices  fell  into  soft  and  tender  tones  did  I  say, 
l^J.§LIB£njnean^welljjn^  hear  them  ;  but  they  do  not 

..know  my  case,  and  therefore  I  must  look  elsewhere  for  help.  It 
is  in  that  '*  elsewhere  "  that  we  find  our  subject. 

Job  looks  round  for  God,  as  a  man  might  look  round  for  an  old 
acquaintance,  an  old  but  long-gone  friend.  Memory  has  a  great 
ministry  to  discharge  in  life  :  old  times  come  back,  and  whisper 


Jobxxiii.]   JOB'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  CONTROVERSY,    237 

to  us,  correct  us  or  bless  us,  as  the  case  may  be ;  old  hymns  and 
psalms  that  now  in  our  higher  culture  we  despise  and  quote  with 
suggestive  emphasis, — even  these  sometimes  come  singing  round 
the  corner,  as  if  they  would  attract  our  attention  without  being 
rude  or  violent ;  sometimes  in  the  aching  heart  there  comes  up  a 
longing  to  get  back  to  the  old  altar,  the  old  sanctuary,  the  old 
pastor;  after  listening  to  all  new  doctors  the  heart  says,  Where 
is  your  old  friend  ?  where  the  quarter  whence  light  first  dawned  ? 
recall  yourself :  think  out  the  whole  case.  So  Job  would  seem 
now  to  say.  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him  !  I  would 
go  round  the  earth  to  discover  him ;  I  would  fly  through  all  the 
stars  if  I  could  have  but  one  brief  interview  with  him ;  I  would 
count  no  labour  hard  if  I  might  see  him  as  I  once  did.  We  are 
not  always  benefited  by  a  literally  correct  experience,  a  literally 
correct  interpretation  even.  Sometimes  God  has  used  other 
means  for  our  illumination  and  release,  and  upbuilding  in  holy 
mysteries.  So  Job  might  have  strange  ideas  of  God,  and  yet 
those  ideas  might  do  him  good.  It  is  not  our  place  to  laugh 
even  at  idolatry.  There  is  no  easier  method  of  provoking  an  un- 
christian laugh,  or  evoking  an  unchristian  plaudit,  than  by  railing 
against  the  gods  of  the  heathen.  Job's  ideas  of  God  are  not 
ours,  but  they  were  his ;  and  for  a  man  to  live  out  his  own  ideal 
of  religion  is  the  beginning  of  the  right  life :  only  let  a  man  with 
his  heart-hand  seize  some  truth,  hold  on  by  some  conviction,  and 
support  the  same  by  an  obedient  spirit,  a  beneficent  life,  a  most 
charitable  temper,  a  high  and  prayerful  desire  to  know  all  God's 
will,  and  how  grey  and  dim  soever  the  dawn,  the  noontide  shall 
be  without  a  cloud,  and  the  afternoon  shall  be  one  long  quiet 
glory.  Hold  on  by  what  you  do  know,  and  do  not  be  laughed 
out  of  initial  and  incipient  convictions  by  men  who  are  so  wise 
that  they  have  become  fools. 

Job  says,  Now   I   bethink   me,  God  is  considerate   and    for- 
bearing : — 

"  Will  he  plead  against  me  with  his  great  power  ?    No ;  but  he  would  put 
strength  in  me  "  (v.  6). 

It  is  something  to  know  so  much.     Job  says,  Bad  as  I  am, 
I  might  be  worse;  after  all  I  am  alive;  poor,  desolated,  impover- 


238  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxiii. 

ished,  dispossessed  of  nearly  everything  I  could  once  handle  and 
claim  as  my  own,  yet  still  I  live,  and  life  is  greater  than  any- 
thing life  can  ever  have  :  so  I  am  not  engaged  in  a  battle  against 
Omnipotence;  vrere  I  to  fight  Almightiness,  why  I  should  be 
crushed  in  one  moment :  the  very  fact  that  I  am  spared  shows 
that  although  it  may  be  God  who  is  against  me,  he  is  not  rude 
in  his  almightiness,  he  is  not  thundering  upon  me  with  his  great 
strength  ;  he  has  atmosphered  himself,  and  is  looking  in  upon  me 
by  a  gracious  accommodation  of  himself  to  my  littleness.  Let 
thisu^tand  as  a  great  and  gracious  lesson  in  human  training, 
that  however  great  the  affliction,  it  is  evident  that  God  does  not 
plead  against  us  with  his  whole  strength ;  if  he  did  so,  he  who 
touches  the  mountains  and  they  smoke  has  but  to  lay  one  finger 
upon  us — nay,  the  shadow  of  a  finger — and  we  should  wither 
away.  So,  then,  I  will  bless  God ;  I  will  begin  to  reckon  "thus, 
that  after  all  that  has  gone  the  most  has  been  left  me ;  I  can  still 
inquire  for  God,  I  can  still  even  humbly  pray;  I  can  grope, 
though  I  cannot  see;  I  can  put  out  my  hands  in  the  great 
darkness,  and  feel  something:  I  am  not  utterly  cast  away. 
Despisest  thou  the  riches  of  his  goodness  ?  Shall  not  the  riches 
of  his  goodness  lead  thee  to  repentance  ?  Hast  thou  forgotten 
all  the  instances  of  forbearance  ?  Is  not  his  very  stroke  of  afflic- 
tion dealt  reluctantly  ?  Does  he  not  let  the  lifted  thunder  drop  ? 
Here  is  a  side  of  the  divine  manifestation  which  may  be  con- 
sidered by  the  simplest  minds ;  here  is  a  process  of  spiritual 
reckoning  which  the  very  youngest  understandings  may  conduct. 
Say  to  yourself-— Yes,  there  is  a  good  deal  left:  the  sun  still 
warms  the  earth,  the  earth  is  still  willing  to  bring  forth  fruit, 
the  air  is  full  of  life :  I  know  there  are  a  dozen  graves  dug  all 
around  me,  but  see  how  the  flowers  grow  upon  them  every  one : 
did  some  angel  plant  them  ?  whence  came  they  ?  Life  is  greater 
than  death.  The  life  that  was  in  Christ  abolished  death,  covered 
it  with  ineffable  contempt,  and  utterly  set  it  aside,  and  its  place 
is  taken  up  by  life  and  immortality,  on  which  are  shining  for  ever 
the  whole  glory  of  heaven.  Job  will  yet  recover.  He  will  cer- 
tainly pray;  perhaps  he  will  sing;  who  can  tell?  He  begins 
well :  he  says  he  is  not  fighting  Omnipotence,  Omnipotence  is  not 
fighting  him^  and  the  very  fact  of  forbearance  involves  the  fact  of 
mercy.  ^^ 


Jobxxiii.]   JOB' S  REVIEW  OF  THE  CONTROVERSY,   2sg 

Will  he  grow  from  this  point?  will  he  advance?  He  will. 
We  shall  see  that  he  distinctly  advances  in  his  argument : — 

"  But  he  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take :  when  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall 
come  forth  as  gold  "  (v.  lo). 

When  a  man  says  that,  he  has  come  forth ;  the  miracle  is  done. 
Wh}^  wait  for  the  completed  miracle  of  the  universe  ?  It  is 
finished  in  every  grass-blade,  in  every  fowl  that  flies  in  the  open 
firmament,  in  every  breath  that  is  in  our  nostrils.  Having  given 
us  life,  he  will  never  see  us  die,  but  by  our  own  rashness ;  he 
will  not  be  guilty  of  manslaughter :  the  gift  of  life  pledges  him 
in  that  direction.  Hear  the  patriarch — had  he  lived  now  he 
could  not  have  been  wiser — ''He  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take'' 
— the  dark,  sinuous  way ;  not  one  straight  mile  in  it ;  sometimes 
uphill,  so  that  my  very  strength  gives  way,  and  I  would  almost 
return  to  the  starting-point,  and  then  suddenly  down  a  deep  and 
threatening  declivity,  the  end  of  which  no  eye  can  see ;  and  then 
off  into  stony  places,  and  across  broad  wildernesses ;  and  then  up 
to  the  very  lips  in  cold,  cold  rivers  :  but  he  watches  all  the  way ; 
the  light  and  the  darkness  are  both  alike  unto  him;  he  knoweth  my 
downsitting  and  mine  uprising,  my  going  out  and  my  coming  in ; 
he  watches  me  as  if  I  were  an  only  child :  blessed  be  his  name 
for  ever ;  when  he  hath  tried  me,  tested  me,  pierced  me  through 
and  through,  thrown  me  into  the  fire,  watched  the  burning  in  all 
its  effect  upon  me — when  he  has  got  out  the  last  speck  of  dross, 
he  will  put  me  into  his  crown ;  I  shall  be  for  the  King's  use 
through  eternal  day.  Who  says  that  Job  has  fallen,  taken  the 
wrong  view,  lapsed  into  infidelity  ?  He  is  now  hiding  himself 
in  rocks ;  he  is  now  standing  in  the  very  sanctuary  of  God  :  see 
how  he  pulls  himself  together  I  Cy(^d  is  fnrhf^aring,  h^rangp  {^e  is 
not  issuing  against  me  all  his  strength  :  God  knows  the  wav  that 
I  take,  and  he  is  trying  me :  he  knows  there  is  some  gold  in  me : 
who  would  try  dross,  knowing  it  to  be  dross  only?  ine  very 
fact  of  the  trial  means  that  there  is  something  to  be  tried,  and 
something  worth  saving,  and  something  that  God  can  turn  to 
high  uses.  Is  this  an  ancient  lesson  ?  Are  there  men  who  can 
jeer  at  this  as  something  spoken  three  thousand  years  ago,  or 
five  thousand  years  ago  to  some  poor  sorrowing  old  sheik  in  the 
Eastern  land  ?     Why,  this  is  the  very  speech  we  need.     We  are 


240  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxiii. 

being  tried.  Every  man  is  undergoing  a  process  of  investigation, 
scrutiny,  trial,  education,  drill,  evolution,  development, — call  it 
what  you  please,  there  is  the  .substantial  truth  :  nor  have  we  yet 
found  than  any  one  great  fact  in  all  the  evangelical  theology  has 
to  be  changed  in  view  of  the  lights  that  are  now  shining  from  real 
or  artificial  heavens.  We  are  being  chastened,  mellowed,  really 
and  vitally  tried.  Is  it  not  so  ?  Look  at  experience.  Let  the 
apostle  state  it  in  his  Greek  way:  "No  chastening" — or  trial, 
or  affliction,  or  temptation,  or  sorrow — "  for  the  present  seemeth 

to  be  joyous,  but  grievous:  nevertheless,  afterward "  there  is 

the  unknown  sphere,  the  unending  time,  the  ineffable  sanctuary 
of  real  issues  and  abiding  realities.  We  are  singing  a  hymn,  and 
that  is  the  refrain ;  a  poet  has  not  yet  arisen  to  put  it  into  form, 
to  yoke  it  to  fit  letters,  but  the  hymn  is  in  us,  and  singing  in  us, 
and  singing  around  us,  and  the  refrain  is — "  nevertheless,  after- 
ward." How  well  it  comes  in !  How  happily  it  terminates  each 
verse  I  "  Nevertheless,  afterward."  We  rise  from  the  bed  of 
affliction  saying  so ;  we  come  back  from  life's  daily  battle  in  the 
market-place  saying  so ;  we  close  the  letter  that  has  crushed  our 
last  hopes  saying  so ;  we  return  from  the  black  churchyard,  the 
pit  of  bodily  death,  hardly  saying  so  articulately,  but  saying  so 
in  the  heart,  so  that  friends  can  understand  the  motion  of  our 
lips,  saying.  Being  interpreted,  that  motion  is,  *' Nevertheless, 
afterward."  The  whole  creation  is  saying  this,  whilst  groaning 
and  travailing  in  pain;  it  is  sustained  in  its  agony  by  the 
'' nevertheless,  afterward"  of  an  eternal  promise. 

Does  Job  advance  ?     He  strikes  again  upon  the  right  chord  : — 

"  Lo,  these  are  parts  of  his  ways :  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of  him  ? 
but  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand  ?  "  (xxvi.  14). 

In  other  words,  These  are  the  lower  endings  of  his  ways  :  this  is 
the  ladder-foot ;  it  rests  upon  the  earth,  but  where  is  its  head  ? 
In  other  words ;  These  are  whisperings  of  his  ways,  the  silences 
of  his  going,  the  mere  appearances  and  throbbings  of  a  mysterious 
motion  :  but  the  fulness  of  God,  in  all  his  meaning,  and  love,  and 
strength,  and  redemption,  who  can  tell  ?  That  must  always  be 
so.  There  must  always  be  an  unknown  quantity  in  God,  and 
we  must  always  be  moved  by  a  desire  to  know  that  unknown 
element  and  force ;  yet  we  rejoice  that  we  cannot  know  God  in 


Jobxxiii.J   JOB'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  CONTROVERSY,   241 


all  the  fulness  of  his  being.  We  know  him  sympathetically :  we 
know  him,  as  it  were,  intuitively.  If  he  will  not  come  to  us,  we  will 
carve  a  marble  slab,  and  write  upon  it  a  Bible  of  our  own.  We 
must  have  him.  If  things  did  not  take  shape,  we  should  be  able 
to  dismiss  the  idea  of  God  more  readily ;  but  events  form  them- 
selves :  there  is  a  building  behind  us.  Our  life  is  not  a  gathering 
up  of  unrelated  ideas  and  circumstances,  a  mere  association 
created  by  proximity;  life  is  coherent,  symmetric,  a  palace-like 
structure,  strange  in  architecture,  wonderful  in  elevation.  We 
see  it  now  I  For  a  long  time  we  thought  that  one  day  had  no 
relation  to  another;  that  one  event  was  altogether  independent 
of  another ;  we  have  now  discovered  the  law  of  sequence,  the 
law  of  attachment — shall  I  say  ? — the  law  of  chain-making ;  call 
it  by  any  name  you  please, — only  the  result  of  your  naming 
must  be  that  God's  purpose  in  life  takes  shape,  form,  and  appeals 
by  its  very  symmetry  and  completeness  to  our  highest  conscious- 
ness, and  calls  for  the  confirmation,  not  of  genius,  which  is  rare, 
but  of  experience,  which  is  universal.  We  are  dwelling  in  the 
lower  parts  of  things,  seeing  but  their  beginnings,  hearing  but 
their  whisperings ;  we  shall  be  wise  when  we  know  that  we  are 
ignorant ;  we  shall  begin  to  be  great  when  we  know  that  we 
are  nothing.  If  any  man  think  himself  to  be  something  when 
he  is  nothing,  he  deceives  himself,  and  nobody  else :  and  self- 
deception  is  the  profoundest  humiliation  of  mankind.  We  shall 
grow  in  knowledge  when  we  grow  in  reverence, — when  we  stand 
before  a  sunrise  or  a  sunset  and  fail  to  see  the  glory  because  our 
tears  blind  us.  Reverence,  veneration,  sense  of  infinity,  will 
help  any  man  to  grow,  to  become  strong  and  wise  and  healthy. 

We  shall  yet  see  Job  released  from  his  captivity.  He  says 
that  his  character  is  good  though  his  life  is  troubled.  That  pains 
him  very  much  : — 

"  My  righteousness  I  hold  fast,  and  will  not  let  it  go ;  my  heart  shall  not 
reproach  me  so  long  as  I  live  "  (xxvii.  6). 

"  If  our  heart  condemn  us,  God  is  greater  than  our  heart,  ar^d 
knoweth  all  things.  Beloved,  if  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then 
have  we  confidence  toward  God."  Job  has  lived  for  us  this 
mystery,  namely,  that  a  man  may  have  a  perfect  integrity  (using 

VOL  XI.  16 


24a  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxiii. 

the  term  in  its  human  sense)  and  yet  have  an  afflicted  life.  We 
need  some  men  to  do  things  for  us.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of 
any  one  of  us  to  sweep  the  whole  circumference  of  human 
experience.  We  live  in  one  another,  and  for  one  another,  and 
we  have  typical,  emblematical  men  to  whom  we  point,  saying, 
This  man  has  proved  it ;  that  man  is  the  evidence  of  it.  Solomon 
has  returned  from  his  voluptuous  journey ;  he  sits  down  in  dis- 
appointment, in  shame,  and  says,  "Vanity  of  vanities;  all  is 
vanity."  We  are,  therefore,  entitled  to  look  at  the  examples  of 
wicked  men,  the  examples  of  good  men,  and  to  draw  inferences 
bearing  upon  the  whole  system  of  things  from  what  they  have 
seen  and  been  and  done.  It  is  something  to  know  that  we  have 
maintained  our  integrity,  and  yet  may  have  been  seized  by  great 
temptations,  and  be  subjected  to  intolerable  trials.  Such  is  the 
mystery  of  human  life — **so  abject,  so  august";  so  like  a  tragedy; 
sometimes  fraying  itself  down  into  comical  associations  and 
relations:  still,  a  wondrous  life;  its  very  pain  signifying  its 
dignity,  its  very  ambition  testifying  to  its  immortality. 

So  Job  lived  in  a  universe  that  was  large,  secure,  well-governed, 
and  a  universe  that  would  consummate  itself  in  goodness.  Job 
has  said  to  us  so  far  in  his  colloquy — for  we  have  confined 
ourselves  to  one  point — The  universe  is  a  roomy  place,  and  is 
not  measured  by  any  one  man's  estate;  it  is  larger  than  any 
one  man  has  yet  reckoned,  and  is  well-built;  its  pillars  are 
firm.  There  is  a  spirit  of  righteousness  running  through  all  the 
universe,  a  spirit  of  judgment,  a  spirit  of  pure  criticism  that 
cannot  be  deceived,  and  that  will  not  rest  until  all  things  fall 
into  massive  harmony,  or  stand  up  in  speckless  beauty  and  purity. 
Job  thus  became  more  and  more  contented  with  the  world, 
and  being  contented  with  that,  it  was  easy  to  descend  into  the 
little  details  of  his  own  life.  Why  not  reason  so  ?  The 
argument  a  fortiori  may  begin  at  one  of  two  opposite  points; 
we  may  reason  upward  from  the  little  and  the  known  to  the 
unknown,  and  be  pressed  with  all  logical  strength  to  conclu- 
sions that  seem  to  baffle  us;  or  we  may  come  from  the  other 
end  and  say,  The  sky  is  so  secure  that  probably  the  roof  built 
over  my  head  by  God,  which  I  cannot  see,  is  quite  as  secure: 
the  laws  of  nature,  so  called,  whatever  they  may  be,  are  firm, 


Jobxxiii.]   JOB' S  REVIEW  OF  THE  CONTROVERSY.   243 

beneficent,  inexorable,  and  yet  not  wanting  in  a  kind  of  weird  com- 
passionateness  :  it  may  be,  therefore,  that  there  are  other  laws, — 
within  those  of  nature — gracious,  tender,  redeeming,  dealing  with 
sin,  and  dealing  with  every  mystery  that  makes  life  sad.  So  the 
very  heavens  may  help  us,  and  the  strong  earth  may  minister  to 
our  spiritual  security.  It  is  something  to  live  in  a  society  about 
whose  security  we  have  no  doubt.  It  is  something  to  know  that 
there  is  a  court  of  law  in  which  justice  will  be  done,  whoever 
falls.  This  is  the  comfort  of  every  citizen.  Once  let  there  be  a 
doubt  about  this,  and  citizenship  is  fraught  with  peril  and  dis- 
trust. But  in  a  well-ordered  community  there  is  this  central 
feeling  :  justice  will  be  done ;  whatever  the  controversy  is,  it 
will  be  settled  in  the  long  run  fairly  and  equitably;  criticism 
will  be  brought  to  bear,  and  learning,  and  righteousness,  and 
all  that  dignifies  human  life,  and  'the  issue  in  this  commonwealth 
will  be  justice  to  rich  and  poor,  to  strong  and  helpless.  It  is 
surely  something  to  know  this  about  a  mere  social  state. 
Amplify  and  spiritualise  the  argument,  and  it  becomes  this : 
all  things  are  done  in  righteousness :  God  sitteth  upon  the 
throne  :  nothing  escapes  His  attention :  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God :  there  is  a  spirit  of  redemption 
in  the  universe,  as  well  as  a  spirit  of  righteousness.  The  Judge 
of  the  whole  earth  will  do  right.  Time  is  not  reckoned  by 
to-day,  or  to-morrow,  or  the  third  day :  God  keeps  the  time, 
and  when  he  says,  "It  is  finished,"  we  shall  answer,  "It  is 
well." 


Job  xxiii.  3. 

**Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him  I" 

MAN   DESIRING   GOD. 

GOD  comes  only  into  the  heart  that  wants  him.  Every  man 
keeps  the  key  of  the  door  of  his  own  heart,  but  God  will 
not  wrench  that  key  from  his  hand.  The  Almighty  has  great 
power,  but  he  never  uses  it  to  break  down  the  will  of  man,  and 
say,  "  You  shall  love  me,  in  spite  of  your  own  will  and  prejudice." 
All  that  God — though  he  be  clothed  with  omnipotence  and  have 
at  his  girdle  the  keys  of  all  worlds — says  is,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at 
the  door,  and  knock :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  will  open 
the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him."  God  does  not  force  his 
way  into  the  human  heart,  saying,  *'  I  have  made  the  heart  and 
I  will  reign  in  it,  and  subdue  your  will  to  mine,  so  that  you  shall 
have  me  as  God,  whether  you  will  or  not."  He  is  God  in  the 
heavens  above  and  in  the  earth  beneath,  and  he  gives  to  none 
the  glory  of  his  name ;  yet  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  obscurest 
man  that  breathes  to  shut  God  out  of  his  heart  and  to  say,  "  I 
will  not  have  the  Holy  One  to  reign  over  me." 

Everything  depends  upon  the  tone  and  purpose  of  the  heart. 
Do  we  really,  with  the  whole  heart,  desire  to  find  God,  and  give 
ourselves  wholly  into  his  hands  ?  That  is  our  starting  point. 
If  any  man,  really  and  truly,  with  all  the  desire  of  the  soul,  longs 
to  find  God,  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  be  found. 
How  is  it  with  our  hearts  ?  Do  they  go  out  but  partially  after 
God  ?  Then  they  will  see  little  or  nothing  of  him.  Do  they  go 
out  with  all  the  stress  of  their  aftection,  all  the  passion  of  their 
love, — do  they  make  this  their  one  object  and  all-consuming 
purpose  ?  Then  God  will  be  found  of  them ;  and  man  and  his 
Maker  shall  see  one  another,  as  it  were,  face  to  face,  and  new 
life  shall  begin  in  the  human  soul.     But  except  a  man  desire 


Jobxxiii.3.]  MAN  DESIRING  GOD.  245 

with   his  whole  heart  and  strength  to  find  God,  no  promise  is 
given  in  the  living  word  that  God  will  be  found.     It  is  possible 
to  desire  God  under  the  impulse  of  merely  selfish  fear,  but  such 
desire  after  God  seldom  ends  in  any  good.     It  is  true  that  fear  is 
an  element  in  every  useful  ministry.     We  would  not,  for  one 
moment,  undervalue  the  importance  of  fear  in  certain  conditions 
of  the  human  mind.     At  the  same  time,  it  is  distinctly  taught  in 
the   Holy    Book   that   men    may,   at   certain   times,    under   the 
influence  of  fear,  seek   God,  and  God  will  turn  his  back  upon 
them,  will  shut  his  ears  when  they  cry,  and  will  not  listen  to  the 
voice  of  their  appeal.     Nothing  can  be  more  distinctly  revealed 
than  this  awful  doctrine, — that  God  comes  to  men  within  certain 
seasons  and  opportunities,  that  he  lays  down  given  conditions  of 
approach,  that  he  even  fixes  times  and  periods,  and  that  the  day 
will  come  when  he  will  say,  '*  I  will  send  a  famine  upon  the  land, 
not  a  famine  of  bread,  nor  a  thirst  for  water,  but  of  hearing  the 
words  of  the  Lord."     When  men  are  in  great  physical  pain,  when 
pestilence  is  in  the  air,  killing  its  thousands  week  by  week,  when 
wheat-fields  are  turned  into  graveyards,  when  God's  judgments 
are  abroad  in  the  earth,  there  be  many  who  turn  their  ashen 
faces  to  the  heavens  I     What  if  God  will  not  hear  their  cowardly 
prayer?     When  God  lifts  his  sword,  there  be  many  that  say, 
"  We  would  flee  from  this  judgment."     And  when  he  comes  in 
the  last,  grand,  terrible  development  of  his  personality,  many 
will  cry  unto  the  rocks,  and  unto  the  hills  to  hide  them  from  his 
face ;  but  the  rocks  and  the  hills  will  hear  them  not,  for  they  will 
be  deaf  at  the  bidding  of  God  1     We  wish  to  make  this  dark  side 
of  the  question  very  plain  indeed ;  because  there  are  persons  who 
imagine,  that  they  may  put  off*  the  greatest  considerations  of  life 
until  times  of  sickness,  and  times  of  withdrawment  from  business, 
and  times  of  plague,  and  seasons  that  seem  to  appeal  more  patheti- 
cally than  others  to  their  religious  nature.     God  has  distinctly 
said,  "  Because  I  have  called,  and  ye  refused ;  I  have  stretched  out 
my  hand,  and  no  man  regarded ;  but  ye  have  set  at  naught  all  my 
counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof:    I  also  will  laugh  at 
your  calamity ;  I  will  mock  when  your  fear  cometh ;  when  your 
fear  cometh  as   desolation,  and  your  destruction   cometh  as   a 
whirlwind :    Then   shall    they   call    upon   me,    but    I   will   not 
answer."     Let  no  man  rest  under  the  impression  that  he  can 


246  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiii.3. 

call  upon  God  at  any  time  and  under  any  circumstances,  for 
there  is  a  black  mark  at  a  certain  part  of  your  life ;  up  to 
that  you  may  seek  God  and  find  him, — beyond  it  you  may 
cry,  and  hear  nothing  but  the  echo  of  your  own  voice  I  How 
then  does  it  stand  with  us  in  this  matter  of  desire  ?  Is  our  desire 
after  God  living,  loving,  intense,  complete  ?  That  desire  itself  is 
prayer;  and  the  very  experience  of  that  longing  brings  heaven 
into  the  soul  1 

Let  us  now  turn  from  this  sombre  part  of  the  subject.  Yet  if 
I  had  not  declared  this,  some  soul  might  have  spoken  to  me 
some  day,  bitterly  and  keenly.  If  I  had  allowed  any  man  to 
escape  until  I  had  told  him  this,  with  piercing  accents,  might  he  not 
by-and-by  have  turned  round  upon  me  and  said,  "You  did  not 
tell  me  about  times  and  seasons ;  you  left  me  under  the  impres- 
sion that  I  could  put  this  thing  off  until  the  latest  hour  of  my 
life,  and  just  when  I  was  drawing  up  my  feet  to  die,  I  might 
pray,  and  I  should  be  taken  into  heaven  "  ?  No  man  can  charge 
the  preacher  thus.  There  is  a  period,  there  is  a  day  of  mercy ; 
and  "the  sun  of  mercy  once  set,  shall  rise  no  more  !  "  Whatso- 
ever, therefore,  our  hand  findeth  to  do,  let  us  do  it  with  our 
might.  We  must  work  while  it  is  called  day,  for  the  night 
cometh  when  no  man  can  work.  We  speak  these  words  with 
the  solemnity  of  the  heart,  and  the  pathos  of  a  man  who  is 
trembling  upon  the  brink  of  eternity  himself;  and  if  any  man 
take  them  in  a  flippant  spirit,  the  iniquity  be  upon  his  own  head, 
— the  wickedness  he  perpetrates  shall  come  down  upon  his  own 
heart  I 

This  desire  on  our  part  is  in  answer  to  the  desire  of  God. 
There  is  more  or  less  of  mystery  about  this  part  of  the  question. 
Still  it  is  a  mystery  we  are  capable  of  grappling  with,  in  all  the 
practical  bearings  of  the  case  at  least.  The  desire  after  God 
does  not  begin  on  our  part.  God  has  not  hidden  himself  from 
man  for  the  purpose  that  he  might  allow  his  creature,  his  lost 
child,  to  cry  after  him.  We  love  God  because  he  first  loved  us. 
If  we  desire  God  it  is  because  God  first  desired  us.  God  asks  for 
our  heart  as  his  tabernacle  ;  he  surrounds  us  night  and  day  with 
ender,  pathetic  appeals ;  he  says,  *'  If  any  man  love  me,  I    will 


Jobxxiii.3.]  MAN  DESIRING   GOD,  247 

come  in,  and  make  my  abode  in  his  heart."  He  plies  us,  as 
mother  never  plied  her  prodigal  child  to  come  home  again  ;  and 
there  is  not  one  word  of  grace,  or  pathos,  or  tender  entreaty, 
which  he  has  withheld  from  his  argument,  if  haply  he  might  find 
his  way  with  our  glad  consent,  into  our  heart  of  hearts.  Do  we 
desire  God  ?  Then  it  is  because  God  first  desired  us.  Do  we  feel 
kindlings  of  love  towards  him?  Our  love  is  of  yesterday; 
God's  love  comes  up  from  unbeginning  time,  and  goes  on  to  un- 
ending eternity  I  There  is  nothing  in  his  teaching  that  is  likely 
to  feed  the  self-sufficiency  of  men,  or  to  put  men  into  a  false 
position,  or  to  degrade  the  sovereignty  and  wondrous  grace  of 
God.  For  there  is  nothing  at  all  in  our  hearts  that  is  good  and 
true  and  tender,  that  is  not  inspired  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost  1 

Do  we  really  desire  to  find  God,  to  know  him,  and  to  love 
him  ?  If  so,  that  desire  is  the  beginning  of  the  new  birth ;  that 
longing  is  the  pledge  that  our  prayers  shall  be  accomplished  in 
the  largest,  greatest  blessing  that  the  living  God  can  bestow 
upon  us.  Still  it  may  be  important  to  go  a  little  further  into 
this,  and  examine  what  our  object  is  in  truly  desiring  to  find  God. 
It  may  be  possible  that  even  here  our  motive  may  be  mixed ; 
and  if  there  is  the  least  alloy  in  our  motive,  that  alloy  will  tell 
against  us.  The  desire  must  be  pure.  There  must  be  no 
admixture  of  vanity  or  self-sufficiency ;  it  must  be  a  desire  of 
true,  simple,  undivided  love.  Now,  how  is  it  with  the  desire 
which  we  at  this  moment  may  be  presumed  to  experience  ? 
What  is  our  object  in  desiring  to  find  God?  Is  it  to  gratify 
intellectual  vanity  ?  That  is  possible.  It  is  quite  conceivable 
that  a  man  of  a  certain  type  and  cast  of  mind  may  very  zealously 
pursue  theological  questions  without  being  truly,  profoundly 
religious.  It  is  one  thing  to  have  an  interest  in  scientific 
theology,  and  another  thing  really  and  lovingly  to  desire  God  for 
religious  purposes.  It  is  possible,  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
human  frame,  to  be  an  ardent  student  of  physiology,  and  yet  not 
to  have  one  spark  of  benevolence  towards  humanity,  individual 
or  social,  in  the  heart.  Is  it  npt  perfectly  conceivable  that  a 
man  shall  take  delight  in  dissecting  the  human  frame,  that  he 
may  find  out  and  understand  its  structure;  and  yet  do  so 
without  any  intention  ever  to  heal  the  sick,  or  feed  the  hungry, 


248  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiii.  3. 


or  clothe  the  naked  ?  Some  men  seem  to  be  born  with  a 
desire  to  anatomise ;  they  Hke  to  dissect,  to  find  out  the  secret 
of  the  human  frame,  to  understand  its  structure  and  the  inter- 
dependence of  its  several  parts.  So  far  we  rejoice  in  their  per- 
severance and  their  discoveries.  But  it  is  perfectly  possible  for 
such  men  to  care  for  anatomy,  without  caring  for  philanthropy ; 
to  care  about  anatomy,  from  a  scientific  point  of  view,  without 
any  ulterior  desire  to  benefit  any  living  creature.  So  it  is  per- 
fectly conceivable  that  a  man  may  make  the  study  of  God  a  kind 
of  intellectual  hobby,  without  his  heart  being  stirred  by  deep 
religious  concern  to  know  God  as  the  Father,  Saviour,  Sanctifier, 
Sovereign  of  the  human  race.  We  therefore  do  not  make  any 
apology  for  putting  this  question  so  penetratingly.  It  is  a 
vital  question.  Do  you  seek  to  know  more  of  God  simply  as  a 
scientific  theological  enquirer?  Why  do  you  desire  to  know 
God  ?  Is  it  to  solve  the  problem  of  rulership  and  sovereignty  ? 
It  is  very  possible  that  men  may  put  to  themselves  such  a 
task  as  this  :  "  We  have  heard  a  great  deal  from  men  of  science 
about  cause  and  effect ;  the  law  of  continuity  and  the  law  of 
succession.  Now  I  intend  to  find  out  whether  it  is  a  law — a 
dead  law — that  is  behind  all  this  phenomena,  or  whether  it  is 
a  living  being."  A  man  may  start  out  on  his  journey  after  God 
with  a  purpose  like  that,  and  the  probability  is  he  will  not  find 
the  God  of  the  heart,  the  God  of  grace,  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Why  then  do  you  desire  to  find  out  God  ? 
Is  it  to  be  delivered  from  some  immediate  difficulty  ?  Some  of 
us  become  very  religious  in  proportion  as  our  difficulties  increase 
around  us.  We  say  that  if  God  would  only  deliver  us  out  of  this 
perplexity,  we  should  surely  begin  to  pray  unto  him,  and  love 
him  and  serve  him.  When  we  are  weak,  when  we  are  in  pain, 
when  days  are  long  and  nights  are  wearisome,  because  of  some 
oppressive  disease  or  affliction,  then  we  say,  "  If  God  would 
raise  me  up  from  this  bed  of  affliction,  I  know  I  should  give  the 
remainder  of  my  days  to  him."  Is  it  in  this  spirit  that  we  are 
seeking  God,  and  desiring  the  Living  One  ?  Is  there  some  great 
shadow  lying  over  to-morrow  ?  Are  we  almost  afraid  of  Monday 
morning  coming,  because  the  pressure  of  great  difficulty  will  be 
felt  by  us  in  our  family  relationships,  or  in  our  business  re- 
sponsibilities;   and   are  we   now  saying,     "If  God    would   lift 


Jobxxiii.3.]  MAN  DESIRING  GOD,  249 

me  over  this  great  wall,  on  the  other  side  I  should  fall  down 
before  him  and  pray,  and  nevermore  would  I  leave  his  feet"? 
Are  we  quite  sure  that  we  mean  what  we  say  under  such  cir- 
cumstances ?  We  have  experience  to  guide  us  upon  this  matter ; 
we  have  observation  to  consult  upon  this  case.  There  are  many 
men  who  can  plead  guilty  to  the  charge,  that  in  certain  crises, 
they  professed  and  vowed  that  if  God  would  deliver  them  they 
would  be  religious  ever  after,  and  they  can  also  confess  how  far 
it  is  possible  to  desire  God  in  that  way  and  to  be  false  to  the 
solemn  vows  spoken  in  the  most  critical  hours.  What  does  your 
experience  say  upon  this  matter?  You  know  how  ill  you 
were, — you  know  when  the  physicians  shook  their  heads  and 
said  they  could  do  no  more  for  you,  when  you  family  gathered 
around  you,  and  were  about  to  bid  you  farewell, — you  said 
in  your  heart,  "  If  I  could  but  be  raised  up  again,  I  should 
be  a  new  man,  and  have  a  desire  after  better  things.  If 
God  would  but  spare  me  and  recover  my  strength,  I  know  I 
should  be  a  good  man."  You  said  that,  and  you  were  raised  up 
again.  How  long  did  the  vow  keep  you  under  its  discipline  ? 
How  long  did  that  pledge,  extorted  in  such  pain,  rule  your  hfe 
and  control  your  purpose  ?  A  day  ?  Yes.  A  week  ?  Perhaps. 
A  year  ?  No  1  Where  are  you  now  ?  Perhaps  farther  off  than 
ever;  because  slighted  mercies  mean  harder  hearts, — neglected 
opportunities  mean  blinder  eyes.  How  is  it  with  you  now  ?  We 
repeat,  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  be  desiring  God  because 
he  is  under  the  pressure  of  some  peculiar  difficulty  and  obligation, 
and  his  desire  simply  means  this :  If  God  would  deliver  me  I 
think  I  would  serve  him,  but  all  the  probabilities  are,  that  as 
soon  as  I  enjoy  the  blessing  I  should  forget  my  vow.  Is  the 
ground  now  tolerably  clear  of  difficulties?  Have  we  said 
sufficient  about  the  danger  of  merely  selfish  fear  and  cowardly 
concern  in  this  matter  of  seeking  after  God  ?  Have  we  shown 
with  sufficient  suggestiveness  that  it  is  possible  to  seek  after  God 
from  an  intellectual  point  of  view,  and  to  care  little  or  nothing 
about  him  religiously  ?  That  it  is  possible  to  seek  out  rulership 
and  sovereignty,  without  going  in  quest  of  Fatherhood  and 
redemptiveness  ?  Is  it  clear  to  us  by  experience,  as  well  as  by 
exposition,  tliat  many  a  man,  made  a  coward  by  affliction,  has 
sought  to  make  himself  a  saint  through  cowardice,  and  has  turned 


fSO  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiii.3. 

out  to  be  an  arrant  liar  or  a  horrible  hypocrite  ?  If  so,  we  may 
advance  to  our  third  enquiry,  How  then  may  I  seek  God  so  that 
I  may  find  him  religiously  and  know  him  as  he  is  in  his  heart, 
and  feel  the  redeeming  grace  and  power  of  which  I  hear  much 
in  the  gospel  of  his  Son  ?  We  will  answer  that  enquiry  with  a 
full,  glad  heart 

We  are  to  seek  God  as  men  who  know  there  is  no  other  help 
for  us.  If  there  be  the  least  distraction  of  feeling  or  affection  on 
our  part  as  to  this  point,  we  cannot  find  God  I  If  we  suppose 
that  God  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  way  than  that  in  which  he 
himself  has  revealed,  all  our  enquiry  will  end  in  the  bitterest 
disappointment.  If  we  think  that  God  is  one  among  many, — 
that  there  be  many  solaces  and  many  sources  of  strength  in 
human  life,  and  that  God  is  but  one  of  them,  even  the  chief  of 
them, — he  will  not  show  the  lustre  of  his  face,  or  the  grace  of 
his  heart  to  us.  We  must  come  to  him  as  men  who  can  say, 
*'  We  have  tried  every  other  source  of  strength  and  consolation, 
and  behold,  they  are  broken  cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water. 
We  have  consulted  other  physicians ;  we  have  spent  all  we  have 
upon  them,  and  have  become  worse  rather  than  better  ;  now  we 
come  to  thee,  God  of  salvation,  God  of  grace,  that  we  may  find 
healing  and  recovery."  How  is  it  with  us  at  this  point  ?  Have 
you  still  some  lingering  feeling  that  there  is  a  complement  to 
religion,  a  supplement  to  it,  something  that  is  required  to  round 
it  off"  and  make  it  complete  ?  Then  do  not  be  surprised  that  you 
do  not  find  God,  and  do  not  know  him,  in  the  truly  Christian 
sense  of  the  term.  No  man  can  know  God,  until  his  heart  has 
been  emptied  of  every  desire  but  a  desire  after  Christ ;  and  of 
every  conviction  but  a  conviction  that  God  alone  can  meet  faith 
in  himself  by  the  life  that  is  eternal.  See  the  poor  woman  in 
the  crowd,  who  has  spent  all  her  living  on  seeking  health,  and 
has  spent  that  living  in  vain.  She  comes  behind  the  Great 
Teacher,  in  the  crowd  secretly,  saying,  "If  I  may  but  touch 
the  hem  of  his  garment,  I  shall  be  made  whole."  She  had 
tried  every  other  resource,  gone  to  every  professed  Lvialer,  had 
been  filled  with  disappointment,  and  she  was  about  to  give  up 
in  despair;  and  in  that  critical  hour  of  her  experience,  she 
touched  the  Saviour  and  was  healed.     It  must  be  literally  so 


Jobxxiii.3.]  MAN  DESIRING   GOD.  251 

with  us.  We  must  shut  every  other  book,  turn  from  every 
other  teacher,  forsake  every  broken  cistern  and  every  shallow 
fountain,  and  come  to  God  and  say,  "  We  find  life  nowhere  else ; 
can  we  find  it  in  thee,  thou  living  One?"  When  a  man  is 
shut  up  to  this  course,  pressed  down  to  this  point,  and  goes  in 
quest  of  God  in  this  spirit,  he  will  return  from  his  investigation 
filled  with  the  grace  and  love  of  God,  and  made  bright  and 
joyous  with  the  hope  of  the  gospel.  If  we  would  really  and 
truly  find  God,  we  must  go  to  him  as  men  who  have  lost  all 
right  of  standing  before  him.  No  man  is  allowed  to  stand  before 
God  on  equal  terms.  No  sinner  is  permitted  to  go  to  God  and 
say,  "I  come  with  a  case,  part  of  which  I  can  meet  myself;  1 
wish  to  discuss  this  thing  in  thy  hearing,  and  take  thy  counsel 
upon  it."  That  is  not  religious  language.  That  is  the  language 
of  pride,  it  is  the  language  of  self-sufliciency,  it  is  the  language 
of  sin.  How,  then,  are  we  to  go  ?  Not  as  the  Pharisee  went. 
The  Pharisee  went  to  the  temple,  but  he  found  no  justification 
there.  He  went  to  the  right  place,  but  he  went  in  the  wrong 
spirit.  He  prayed,  but  his  prayer  was  rather  to  himself  than 
to  God.  It  was  an  exhibition  of  himself  in  set,  stiff,  religious 
language ;  a  prayer,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  it  was  not, 
and  it  never  entered  heaven.  How  then  are  we  to  go  ?  As  the 
publican  went  He  went  and  lifted  not  up  so  much  as  his  eyes 
unto  heaven  ;  he  smote  upon  his  breast ;  he  condemned  himself; 
he  had  no  status  in  the  house  of  God ;  he  had  no  right  to  be 
there.  But  he  came  on  the  ground  of  mercy ;  and  his  beautiful 
prayer — which  a  child  might  store  in  its  young  heart,  and  the 
most  ignorant  might  learn  in  a  moment — was  this :  "  God  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner  1 "  That  man  went  from  the  temple  to 
his  house  justified,  forgiven,  pardoned.  If  he  he  had  stood  upon 
one  speck  of  his  own  right ;  if  he  had  laid  but  a  finger-tip  upon 
any  one  virtue  he  had  ever  exhibited ;  if  he  had  said,  *'  I  make 
this  the  ground  of  my  claim,  I  put  this  in  as  a  right  and  title  to  thy 
consideration," — God  would  not  have  regarded  his  prayer.  But 
self-renouncing,  self-distrusting,  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
mercy  and  righteousness,  God  heard  his  cry,  and  he  left  the 
temple  without  the  burden  he  took  to  the  holy  place. 

It  is  thus  we  must  desire  God ;  as  the  one  object  of  life's  hop^ 


252  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiii.3. 

as  the  one  life  without  which  we  cannot  live,  as  the  one  grace 
and  comfort  without  which  the  heart  would  perish.  We  may 
put  it  into  what  words  we  please ;  select  our  own  phraseology, 
but  it  comes  to  this, — that  except  we  renounce  every  other  help, 
and  renounce  the  conviction  that  we  can  do  anything  of  our- 
selves on  the  ground  of  righteousness,  we  never  can  find  God 
as  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  our  souls.  What  then  is 
wanted  ?  This  :  that  we  should  now  empty  ourselves  of  every- 
thing that  is  of  the  nature  of  self-flattery ;  that  we  should  view 
our  own  resources  with  contemptuous  self-distrust,  and  look 
upon  our  own  life  with  hatred  and  abhorrence,  and  then  say, 
"  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him  I "  We  should  open 
our  eyes  after  that  prayer  and  see  God  I  Where  ?  At  the 
cross  ?  Yes.  But  why  at  the  cross  ?  Because  on  it  I  It  is  God 
that  is  on  the  cross;  it  is  God  that  dies  for  the  sinner;  it  is 
God  that  brings  our  peace  by  righteousness,  purity  by  holiness. 
We  shall  see  them  there,  and  the  sight  will  be  to  us  the 
beginning  and  the  pledge  of  heaven. 

But  what  is  that  exercise  of  the  heart  or  of  the  mind  by  which 
we  lay  hold  of  religious  things,  livingly  and  with  advantage,  so 
that  we  derive  from  them  strength  and  comfort  and  hope  ?  It  is 
a  religious  word.  It  is  a  word  of  one  syllable.  The  youngest 
may  remember  it.  It  is  faith.  We  are  saved  by  faith.  It  is 
trust ;  it  is  the  casting  of  the  heart  upon  these  things,  and  living 
according  to  them ;  the  life  coming  out  of  faith  being  nothing  in 
itself,  but  as  it  comes  out  of  that  divine  eternal  root,  faith  in  the 
Son  of  God.  Jesus  always  insisted  upon  having  faith.  When 
the  very  poorest  man  came  up  to  him,  he  said,  '*  Dost  thou 
believe?"  When  the  man  wanted  his  withered  hand  healed, 
he  said,  "  Dost  thou  believe  ?  "  When  the  leper  came  to  him, 
he  said,  "Dost  thou  believe?"  He  never  said,  "Dost  thou 
fear  ?  "  but  always  said.  *'  Hast  thou  faith  ?  "  He  never  said, 
"Hast  thou  dread  of  God?"  He  never  said,  "Art  thou  so 
afraid  of  God's  power  that  thou  desirest  to  run  away  from  it 
and  hide  thyself?"  He  always  put  one  question — he  never 
changed  his  question — "  Hast  thou  faith ;  dost  thou  believe ;  is  it 
thine  heart's  desire  that  this  should  be  done  unto  thee?"  In 
some  places  he  could  not  do  many  mighty  works  because  of  the 


Jobxxiii.3.]  MAN  DESIRING   GOD.  353 

unbelief  of  the  people.  The  question  then  comes  to  be  this: 
Have  we  faith  ?  We  can  only  receive  God  through  the  medium 
of  our  belief.  God  enters  our  heart,  because  we  open  the  door 
of  our  trust.  He  does  not  come  to  us  with  difficult  propositions 
and  hard  questions,  and  set  us  perplexing  and  baffling  tasks. 
He  says  to  the  heart,  "  Art  thou  broken  ? "  He  says  to  the 
desire,  "  Art  thou  complete  ?  "  He  says  to  our  faith,  *'  Dost 
thou  rest  on  me  ?  "  And  in  so  far  as  we  can  say,  "  Yes,  Lord," 
he  will  give  us  the  blessing  we  need,  and  dwell  in  the  heart 
that  is  prepared  for  him  1  Men  find  God  in  different  ways. 
Some  find  him  in  great  pain  and  affliction;  and  others  never 
would  have  found  him  but  for  fire  and  loss  and  death  and 
desolation  I  Others  have  been  drawn  to  him  by  the  kind 
ministry  of  loving  parents,  or  brothers,  or  sisters.  There  is 
an  infinite  variety  in  the  details,  but  there  is  no  variety  in  the 
principle.  We  must  desire  God  with  a  true  heart,  with  an 
unmixed  love,  and  then  he  will  come  to  us  and  be  our  God. 

It  is  possible  to  resist  all  appeals.  I  am  not  so  sanguine  as 
to  imagine  that  any  appeal  of  mine,  or  any  other  man's,  is 
irresistible,  if  so  be  you  set  your  mind  to  resist  it.  A  man  may 
put  his  fingers  into  liis  ears  and  resolutely  say,  "  I  will  not  hear 
this."  Or  he  may  listen  with  his  ears,  and  stop  the  hearing  of 
his  heart,  and  say,  "  Not  a  word  of  this  shall  sink  into  my  being." 
It  is  perfectly  possible  for  a  man  to  answer  arguments,  and  to 
bandy  objections,  and  to  criticise  positions,  and  yet  know  nothing 
of  the  reality  and  sweetness  of  the  gospel  and  grace  of  God. 
Do  you  really  desire  God  to  dwell  in  your  hearts  ?  That  desire  is 
grayer.  Do  you  say,  I  wish  I  knew  how  to  pray  ?  The  desire 
of  your  heart  is  the  best  prayer ;  it  is  the  only  true  prayer.  You 
may  not  be  able  to  utter  a  word,  or  if  you  do  utter  words,  you  may 
stumble  and  blunder  in  every  sentence;  but  God  looks  at  the 
desire  of  the  heart  and  the  purpose  of  the  soul ;  and  the  sighing 
of  the  wounded  and  the  contrite  brings  him  from  his  hiding-place, 
and  to  the  trouble  of  the  heart  he  extends  his  strength. 

To  the  Christian  let  me  say :  No  man  can  find  out  God  unto 
perfection.  You  will  not  suppose  that  you  have  concluded  your 
studies  of  the  divine  nature.     In  proportion  as  yoi^^^at?  really 


as4  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxiii.3. 

religious,  you  will  be  the  first  to  resent  the  suggestion  that  you 
have  done  more  than  just  begun  your  studies  of  the  divine 
Person,  the  divine  law,  and  the  divine  grace.  Let  the  word  of 
God  dwell  in  you  richly.  But  some  may  need  an  exhortation : 
those  who  once  did  desire  to  know  God,  and  who  once  professed 
to  have  found  him,  and  who  united  themselves  with  the  children 
of  God,  and  made  open  profession  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Where 
are  they  now  ?  They  began  enthusiastically  ;  there  was  emphasis 
in  their  early  testimony ;  there  was  holy  boldness  in  their  early 
declarations  and  first  efforts  in  Christian  service.  Where  are 
they  now  ?  "  Return,  ye  backsliding  children,  and  I  will  heal 
your  backslidings,  I  will  receive  you  graciously  and  love  you 
freely  I"  That  is  God's  word  to  the  backslider.  Knowing 
the  power  of  temptation,  and  by  how  many  ways  the  devil 
may  come  into  one's  soul  and  steal  the  good  seed,  and  harden 
the  opening  heart,  and  destroy  religious  impressions,  and  quench 
and  stifle  aspiration,  we  send  after  you  the  cry  of  the  Living 
One,  whom  you  have  deserted,  "  Return,  ye  backsliding  children, 
and  I  will  heal  your  backslidings!"  Come  to  us  again.  Be 
not  ashamed  to  excess;  be  ashamed  of  your  sin,  but  do  not  let 
your  shame  destroy  any  hope  that  is  in  you,  or  any  good  desire 
that  stirs  your  heart.  Do  not  let  the  shame  that  you  ought 
to  feel  kill  you  1  Feel  ashamed — burn  with  shame ;  feel  agony  of 
contrition ;  put  your  head  in  the  dust.  Come  amongst  the  people 
of  God  again,  owning  your  sin,  your  evil  behaviour,  and,  knowmg 
what  you  have  done,  you  will  walk  the  more  softly  and  cautiously 
in  years  to  come.  Do  not  be  criticising  the  finger  that  points  the 
road,  and  forget  to  take  the  journey.  Do  not  say  to  the  finger- 
post, ''You  should  have  been  higher  and  broader."  Go  the  road  I 
That  is  what  you  have  to  do.  The  devil  could  have  no  greater 
joy — a  grim  and  terrible  joy  is  his — than  to  find  you  quarrelling 
with  the  guide,  quarrelling  with  the  index  finger  and  not  walking 
one  step  of  the  road.  Rise,  thy  Father  calleth  thee  I  Go  to  him 
and  say,  "Father,  I  have  sinned  before  thee,  and  am  no  more 
worthy  to  be  called  thy  son."  And,  ere  thou  hast  gone  so  far,  he 
will  lock  thee  in  his  heart, — he  will  give  thee  home  in  his  love  I 


H 


Job  xdv. 

MORAL  ANTIQUITY. 

ERE  we  have  a  wonderful  portrayal  of  wickedness.  Some 
men  attach  great  importance  to  antiquity  :  why  should 
the  theologian  be  excluded  from  that  field  of  interest  and  study  ? 
Literary  men  often  have  a  passion  for  antiquity, — to  discover 
a  new  word,  or  to  be  able  to  discover  possible  relations  of  old 
words,  makes  them  wild  with  delight ;  to  know  that  some  book 
has  been  exhumed  which  only  scholars  can  read  is  indeed  a 
festival  to  the  truly  literary  mind.  This  love  of  antiquity 
operates  in  various  ways.  Some  men  are  fond  of  old  coins. 
Half-crowns  have  been  purchased  by  numismatists  for  as  much 
as  fifty  sovereigns.  So  old  age  has  some  advantages.  We  must 
have  antiquity.  This  love  of  antiquity  shows  itself  sometimes  in 
quite  frivolous  ways ;  but,  still,  there  it  is.  There  are  persons 
who  write  their  names  with  two  little  fs.  They  think  it  has 
quite  a  Plantagenet  sort  of  look  about  it,  not  knowing  that  in 
the  antiquity  which  they  all  but  adore  men  wrote  two  little  fs 
because  they  did  not  know  how  to  write  a  capital.  What 
matter?  There  is  an  antiquity  about  it  that  is  quite  soothing, 
and  deeply  satisfactory.  Some  persons  like  to  trace  their  origin 
far  back  into  historical  times ;  others  are  bold  enough  to  go  back 
as  far  even  as  Adam  and  Eve ;  and  there  are  others  of  another 
mental  metal  who  are  not  content  with  that  origin,  and  who  go 
immeasurably  beyond  it,  sacrificing  family  pride  with  the  most 
abject  humbleness.  But  what  does  it  amount  to,  so  long  as  there 
is  the  charm  of  antiquity,  the  hoar  of  countless  ages,  the  moss 
which  only  rocks  could  gather  ?  Why,  then,  should  the  theologian 
be  excluded,  let  us  ask  again,  from  this  field  of  inquiry,  so  broad 
and  charming  ? 

The  Book  of  Job  is  confessedly  one  of  the  most  ancient  books 
in  all  literature ;    it  cannot,  therefore,  fail  to  be  interesting  to 


256  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiv. 

know  the  character  of  wickedness  as  drawn  by  so  ancient  a 
portrayer  of  manners  and  customs.  Is  wickedness  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever  ?  Did  it  begin  quite  innocently,  so 
to  say,  and  as  it  were  by  incalculable  accidents  fall  into  evil 
behaviour?  Is  its  evil  reputation  rather  a  misfortune  than  a 
fault?  Or  was  it  always  as  bad  as  the  devil  could  make  it? 
Did  it  start  badly  ?  Is  it  a  hell-flower  ?  Are  its  roots  fed  by 
forces  that  minister  in  perdition  ?  If  some  modern  man  had 
sketched  the  character  of  evil  we  should  have  said.  History  is 
against  him  :  if  you  search  back  into  the  far-away  ages  you  will 
find  that  the  portraiture  is  overdrawn,  it  is  an  exaggeration 
amounting  almost  to  an  injustice.  Here,  however,  we  have  Job 
as  a  witness.  As  to  the  antiquity  of  this  testimony,  there  is  no 
doubt  amongst  any  body  of  intelligent  men.  It  is  something, 
therefore,  to  have  a  worm-eaten  document,  the  ink  almost  faded, 
and  yet  the  letters  quite  traceable,  so  that  there  can  be  no  dispute 
as  to  what  it  really  says.  It  comes  to  us  with  the  authority  of 
thousands  of  years.     Let  us  look  at  it  a  little. 

Though  the  testimony  is  ancient,  yet  it  is  modem.  See  what 
wicked  men  did  long  ago — 

"  Some  remove  the  landmarks  ;  they  violently  take  away  flocks,  and  feed 
thereof!  They  drive  away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless,  they  take  the  widow's 
ox  for  a  pledge.*  They  turn  the  needy  out  of  the  way  :  the  poor  of  the  earth 
hide  themselves  together.  .  .  .  They  reap  every  one  his  corn  in  the  field  : 
and  they  gather  the  vintage  of  the  wicked.  They  cause  the  naked  to  lodge 
without  clothing,  that  they  have  no  covering  in  the  cold.  They  are  wet 
with  the  showers  of  the  mountains,  and  embrace  the  rock  for  want  of 
shelter.  They  pluck  the  fatherless  from  the  breast,  and  take  a  pledge  of 
the  poor  *'  (w.  2-9). 

And  so  the  evil  testimony  rolls  on  like  a  black  and  pestilent 
stream.  In  all  our  development  we  keep  closely  to  this  line. 
We  know  it.  We  do  not  turn  from  this  portrait  as  from  a 
caricature  that  shocks  our  sense  of  justice  and  truth  ;  we  read  the 
words  as  if  we  had  written  them.  Who  ever  stands  aghast  at 
the  delineation,  and  protests  in  the  name  of  human  nature  that 
such  things  are  impossible  to  man  ?  No  critic  has  ever  done  so ; 
no  etymologist  has  ever  so  changed  the  terms  as  to  change  the 
reputation ;  no  moralist  has  ever  said  that  he  could  not  read  the 

See  note,  a»/#,  p.2241 


Jobxxiv.]  MORAL  ANTIQUITY,  257 

delineation  of  wickedness  in  the  Book  of  Job  without  feeling  tlwt 
it  was  overwrought,  untrue,  and  unjust.     Let  us  see  what  they 
did.     "They  drive  away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless."     The  sting  is 
in  that  last  dreary  word.     They  would  not  have  ventured  to  drive 
away  the  ass  of  those  whose  father  was  living,     A  beautiful 
word  is  the  word   '*  father."     It  has  been  traced  back  to  two 
little  letters  pronounced  by  sweet  children  now,  and  sometimes 
unwisely  smiled  at  or  put  down.     The  root  of  the  word  is  pa. 
Let  us  be  etymologically  correct.     What  does  "  father  "  mean  ? 
It  does  not  signify  mere  descent  of  a  physiological  kind,  as  father 
and  son,  but  it  signifies  protector,  defender;  it  bears  with  it  the 
meaning  of  might  that  can  resist  all  assault,  security  that  will 
itself  die  before  the  thing  secured  can  be  violated.     But  in  ancient 
times  wicked  men  drove  away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless :  the  pro- 
tector was  gone,  so  the  property  must  follow;    there  was  no 
strong  man  to  stand  in  the  front,  and  say,  No :  not  until  you  have 
overthrown  me  can  you  touch  that  which  belongs  to  my  children. 
The  great  hedge  of  security  was  broken  down,  and  strong  wicked 
men   had   rushed  in   upon   the  defenceless,  and  wrought  havoc 
amongst  those  whose  father  was  dead.     Is  that  done  now  ?     Are 
any  liberties  taken  now  with  the  fatherless  ?     Has  a  child  to  pay 
for  orphanage  ?     Has  the  devil  changed  his  character  ?     Then 
again — "  They  turn  the  needy  out  of  the  way."     It  is  always  the 
needy  man  who  has  to  suffer :  he  cannot  conduct  a  long  fight ; 
he  cannot  run  a  long  race;    his  poverty  always  comes  to  stop 
him,  entangle  him,  and  otherwise  render  him  a  prey  to  those 
who  are  rich  and  proud.     This  miracle  of  poverty,  this  eternal 
mystery  of  want, — what  is  it  ?     We  cannot  be  lectured  out  of  it, 
economised   out  of  it,  scientifically  conducted   out  of  it;    there 
stands    the   ghastly   spectre,   age   after    age,   an    apparently  im- 
movable and  indestructible  presence.     A  man  may  be  wise,  but 
he  suffers  through  his  want  of  means;  he  may  have  genius  to 
plan  a  bridge  thai-  should  span  a  broad   river,  but  he  has  no 
money  with  whcih  to  dig  foundations  and  throw  the  arch  across 
the  running  flood.     A  poor  man  may  have  books  in  his  head, 
whole   libraries  of  thought  and  poetry,  vision   and  dream   that 
would  bless   the  world;    but  the  publisher  politely,   time  per- 
mitting, shows  him  to  the  door  because  he  cannot  pay  for  paper 
and  print.     The  needy  man  must  have  his  day.     Surely  there 

VOL.   XI.  I- 


258  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiv. 


will  come  a  time  when  he  will  be  able  to  stand  up  and  state  his 
cause,  and  plead  it,  and  show  that  he  could  have  done  greater 
things  in  the  world  but  for  his  poverty.  Is  any  advantage  taken 
of  the  needy  now  ?  Are  they  all  spoken  to  with  courteous 
civility  ?  Do  men  move  to  them  as  to  equals  ?  Are  they  invited 
to  the  feast?  When  thou  makest  a  feast,  who  are  thy  guests, 
thou  Christian  man  ?  Is  there  boundless  room  outside,  in  the 
snow  of  the  winter  and  the  floods  of  the  autumn,  for  the  needy, 
and  must  they  make  their  bed  in  the  morass  and  cling  to  the 
rock  for  shelter  ?  Has  the  Ethiopian  changed  his  skin  ?  Is 
\\  ickedness  the  same  now  as  it  was  in  ancient  days  ?  Let  facts 
bear  witness.  There  is  no  originality  in  wickedness ;  in  sub- 
stance it  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever.  The  Bible 
has  named  every  sin.  Invention  is  dead  ;  novelty  is  impossible; 
you  cannot  originate  a  new  sin.  If  there  is  one  man  above 
another,  prince  of  the  philologists  of  the  day,  it  is  Professor  Max 
Miiller.  He  says  that  language  as  to  its  root  and  core  has  never 
changed.  Whoever  the  first  speaker  was,  we  are  speaking  his 
language  now.  Say  Adam  was  our  ancestor  in  speech;  then, 
says  the  Professor,  we  are  speaking  Adam's  language  now.  Say 
that  we  trace  our  language  back  to  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth ;  then 
we  are  speaking  their  language  at  this  day.  There  is  no  novelty 
in  the  roots  of  the  language.  Declensions,  conjugations,  varia- 
tions, accidental  changes — many,  showing  themselves  fruitfully 
in  all  advancing  civilisation ;  but  the  root  is  the  same ;  there  is  no 
substantial  novelty.  You  may  have  thrust  the  accent  forward  or 
backward ;  you  may  have  added  syllables ;  you  may  have  twisted 
words,  and  changed  their  momentary  colour  or  their  passing  value  : 
but  as  to  the  root  of  the  language,  he  who  spoke  first  speaks 
now.  There  is  a  great  moral  in  that  philological  lesson.  The 
core  of  wickedness  never  changes.  We  can  invent  new 
accidents,  new  circumstances  which  endure  but  for  a  moment,  we 
are  cleverer  in  secondary  matters ;  but  we  cannot  invent  a  new 
sin,  as  to  its  root  and  core  and  plasmic  meaning ;  these  you  will 
find  in  the  Bible,  and  when  the  Bible  reports  them,  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  making  a  new  language,  but  simply  to  be  taking 
down  a  speech  which  filled  the  air  even  in  the  remotest  days  of 
biblical  antiquity.  It  is  something  to  know,,  therefore,  that  we 
have  testimony  to  go  upon  that   is  irrefragable.     We   are  not 


Jobxxiv.]  MORAL  ANTIQUITY.  ^59 

leaning  to  broken  evidence,  or  to  a  chain  of  events  in  which 
there  are  faulty  links;  every  link  is  faultless,  strong,  distinct,  in 
its  right  place ;  so  that  he  who  would  rise  now  and  make  an  im- 
peachment against  wickedness  has  evidence  enough:  if  he  fail, 
blame  his  ineloquent  tongue,  and  do  not  charge  the  failure  upon 
want  of  proof. 

How  noticeable  it  is  that  crime  has  from  the  beginning  been 
perpetrated  by  men  from  whom  better  things  might  have  been 
expected  I  Take  critical  notice  of  this  one  fact,  that  the  crimes 
which  are  set  down  here  are  crimes  which  only  rich  men  could 
have  committed.  Such  a  fact  is  not  to  be  passed  by  lightly. 
Only  the  strong  men  of  the  time  could  have  removed  the  land- 
mark, or  taken  away  violently  the  flocks,  or  turned  the  needy  out 
of  the  way,  and  driven  the  poor  of  the  earth  to  huddle  in  some 
cold  and  barren  obscurity.  Let  that  fact  always  be  remembered 
in  speaking  about  the  crimes  of  any  civilisation.  The  greatest 
crimes  of  the  world  have  been  done  by  the  strong,  the  rich,  and 
the  proud.  That  these  crimes  would  have  been  done  by  the  weak 
and  the  poor  and  the  abject  had  circumstances  been  different  is 
perfectly  indisputable ;  the  question  is  one  of  human  nature  and 
not  of  accidental  circumstances.  Is  this  true'  to-day  ?  Are  our 
rich  men  all  refuges  to  which  the  poor  may  flee  with  hope  of 
asylum?  Are  our  strong  men  always  alert,  self-surrendering, 
never  considering  themselves  when  the  cause  of  oppression  is  to 
be  treated,  and  when  those  who  would  assail  liberty  make  their 
boastful  voices  heard?  Can  we  gather  ourselves  together  in 
sacred  counsel  and  say.  Whatever  happens  our  rich  men  will  be 
at  the  front,  and  our  strong  men ;  all  the  men  who  lead  us  by 
social  status,  and  ought  to  lead  us  by  generous  example,  will  be 
in  the  van,  so  that  before  any  of  us  who  are  blind,  halt,  maimed, 
can  be  touched,  all  our  foremost  men  must  be  mowed  down  by 
the  scythe  of  the  enemy.     Has  wickedness  changed  its  character  ? 

How  several  popular  fallacies  fall  before  such  testimony  as  is  to 
be  found  in  these  chapters, — for  example,  such  a  fallacy  as  that 
good  circumstances  make  good  character.  Give  a  man  plenty  of 
wealth,  give  him  flock  and  herds,  give  him  ample  estates,  and  he 
will  be  good ;  he  will  make  his  fields  churches,  he  will  make  his 


26o  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  Qobxxiv. 

piles  of  gold  altars,  at  which  he  will  fall,  that  he  may  there  offer 
praise  to  the  Giver  of  eveiy  good  gift :  men  would  be  better  if 
they  were  richer,  stronger.  That  is  a  deadly  sophism.  Look  at 
the  Bible  for  proof  to  the  contrary,  and  at  the  Bible  not  as  a 
professedly  theological  book  but  as  a  literary  history,  as  some- 
thing written  by  the  pen  of  man,  no  matter  who  that  man  was  as 
to  his  religious  relations.  That  such  wickedness  as  this  which  is 
detailed  in  the  Book  of  Job  could  be  dreamed,  and  then  could  be 
published  without  the  author  being  torn  to  pieces  by  an  outraged 
public,  is  a  fact  to  be  reckoned  with  in  all  this  historical  estimate. 
Then  there  is  the  fallacy  that  poverty  and  ill-behaviour  always  go 
together.  There  again  the  poor  man  is  at  a  great  disadvantage. 
It  is  supposed  that  if  a  man  cannot  read  and  write,  therefore  he 
must  be  vicious.  Young  reformers  arise,  and  say.  Put  a  school- 
house  at  the  corner  of  every  street,  and  then  the  magistrate  will 
have  nothing  to  do.  It  is  a  misrepresentation  of  the  poor.  The 
rich  man  can  do  more  mischief  by  one  inscription  of  his  pen  than 
all  the  little  thieves  of  a  city  can  do  in  seven  years.  But  how  we 
spring  at  the  poor  man  when  he  does  anything  wrong,  how  we 
hale  him  before  the  judge,  and  how  we  suppose  that  because  his 
coat  is  torn  therefore  his  character  is  bad.  It  is  not  so.  The 
men  who  have  most  intellect  and  least  morality  can  do  most 
harm  in  the  world.  Then  there  is  the  sophism  that  justice  is  a 
natural  instinct.  It  may  be  said  to  us,  who  are  religious  moralists. 
Trust  the  justice  of  humanity :  man  knows  right  from  wrong ; 
natural  instinct  will  guide  him  :  let  a  man  yield  to  his  instincts, 
and  you  will  have  no  oppression  of  the  poor,  no  driving  of  the 
needy  into  desert  places,  no  removal  of  the  landmarks :  justice  is 
a  natural  instinct ;  trust  it.  It  may  be  a  natural  instinct,  but  it 
has  been  greatly  depraved.  Who  has  known  an  instance  in 
which  it  has  stood  well  to  the  front  without  having  a  back- 
ground sufficiently  mysterious  to  be  designated  religious  ?  No, 
not  until  he  came  who  touched  the  sphere  of  motive,  the  region 
of  spiritual  thought,  were  men  really  just  to  one  another.  Even 
those  who  profess  his  name  and  pray  at  his  cross  often  fail  now, 
but  what  would  they  have  done  but  for  such  association  with  his 
kingdom  and  such  sacrifice  at  the  tree  on  which  he  died !  We 
have  no  justice.  If  we  ever  had  it  we  have  lost,  so  to  say,  its 
very  instinct  and  use.     We  need  to  be  recovered  from  the  error 


Jobxxiv.]  MORAL  AN7IQUITV,  261 

of  our  ways.  Our  very  morality  may  have  been  an  arrangement, 
an  investment,  a  new  game  in  doing  the  work  of  life.  To  be  real 
we  must  be  born  again;  to  be  truly  just  we  must  adjust  our 
relations  with  God  and  to  God.  No  man  can  love  his  neighbour 
as  himself  until  he  loves  God  with  all  his  heart  and  soul  and 
mind  and  strength.  Prosperity  divorced  from  morality  is  the 
curse  of  any  age  and  people.  Riches  are  only  blessings  when 
they  are  held  by  the  hand  of  justice  and  controlled  by  the  spirit 
of  benevolence. 

Here,  then,  is  the  character  of  wickedness.  An  old  character. 
Who  will  adopt  it?  Who  will  wear  these  ancient  clothes? 
Come,  ye  who  are  fond  of  antiquity ;  you  like  old  hoary  time  : 
who  will  adopt  this  moral  antiquity,  and  wear  it,  and  be  proud 
of  it  ?  Who  will  set  this  cap  upon  his  head,  and  say,  Behold 
me,  venerable  in  unrighteousness  ?  Is  there  any  man  who  will 
voluntarily  take  up  this  character  and  say  it  is  his?  Do  we 
not  rather  seem  to  read  it  as  an  old  piece  of  literature,  a  very 
vivid  and  graphic  story,  with  which,  however,  we  would  have 
no  connection,  further  than  a  mere  perusal  of  the  dreary 
tale?  When  the  wicked  man  plays  his  evil  pranks,  let  him 
know  what  his  character  is;  it  is  not  for  him  to  write  it — 
history  has  undertaken  that  work  for  him :  every  line  of  his 
character  is  already  written,  and  he  cannot  change  it.  Why, 
as  we  have  just  seen,  we  cannot  change  a  word  radically  and 
substantially  :  how  then  can  we  change  a  moral  act  ?  In  law 
the  sound  rule  is,  that  which  was  bad  at  the  beginning  is  bad 
through  all  the  process,  and  in  theology  and  morals  the  same 
law  holds  good.  Wickedness  cannot  change  itself,  cannot  invent 
for  itself  a  new  speech  or  a  new  hypocrisy ;  from  the  beginning 
the  father  of  the  wicked  was  a  liar  and  a  murderer.  A  very 
broad  and  true  saying  that  which  is  found  on  the  highest  autho- 
rity in  the  Book  of  God  :  from  the  beginning  he  was  a  murderer : 
he  could  not  become  a  murderer;  he  was  at  the  beginning,  in 
his  very  genesis,  in  his  very  protoplasm,  a  man-slayer,  an  enemy 
of  human  life.  Behold  the  chivalry  of  wicked  men,  the  bravery, 
the  generous  civility,  the  signature  of  heaven, — this,  as  recorded 
in  history,  is  what  they  are  and  what  they  have  done  I  The 
Ethiopian  cannot  change  his  skin,  nor  the  leper  his  spots,  and  if 


262  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxiv. 

ever  this  wickedness  is  to  be  rubbed  out  it  must  be  by  the  blood 
— the  life — of  God  with  us.  Can  we  overturn  old  history  in  one 
day?  Is  all  this  ancient  stream  to  be  cleansed  out  of  human 
history  by  some  majestic  waving  of  the  hand  on  the  part  of  some 
inexperienced  or  adventurous  reformer  ?  Why  dwell  upon  this 
iniquity,  upon  the  blackness  and  the  depth  of  this  horrid  stream  ? 
To  show  that  the  gospel  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  occasion, 
and  comes  to  it  clothed  with  the  almightiness  of  God.  Blessed 
be  God,  if  we  speak  of  the  antiquity  of  sin  we  can  also  speak 
of  the  antiquity  of  grace :  where  sin  abounded  grace  did  much 
more  abound,  even  in  this  matter  of  antiquity.  We  know  that 
antiquity,  and  its  value ;  we  are  not  about  to  dispute  it ;  old 
age  must  always  be  spoken  of  with  carefulness,  and  sometimes 
it  may  prove  itself  to  be  worthy  of  honour  :  therefore,  make  it 
a  question  of  antiquity,  and  how  well  the  gospel  stands !  Does 
sin  abound  in  antiquity  ?  Grace  aboundeth  much  more.  How 
can  that  be  proved  ?  Because  the  Lamb  was  slain  from  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world.  He  died  in  the  unreckoned  eternity. 
He  foresaw  all  the  evil.  He  anticipated  it.  The  cross  was 
a  historical  event,  but  the  sacrifice  was  old  as  eternity — as 
venerable  as  unbeginning  time 


Chapters  xxv.-xxvii. 
QUIET  RESTING-PLACES. 

IT  is  a  curious  speech  with  which  Bildad  winds  up  the  animated 
colloquy  between  Job  and  his  three  friends.  There  is  a 
streak  of  failure  across  the  face  of  the  speech,  notwithstanding 
its  dignity.  Indeed,  the  dignity  is  somewhat  against  the  speech. 
Bildad  is  as  ignorant  of  the  reality  of  the  case  in  the  peroration 
as  he  was  in  the  exordium.  If  this  is  all  that  can  be  said  at  the 
close  of  such  an  intellectual  and  spiritual  interview,  then  some 
of  the  parties  have  grievously  misunderstood  the  case.  Taken 
out  of  its  setting,  read  as  a  piece  of  religious  rhetoric,  it  is  good 
and  noble;  but  regarded  in  its  relations  to  the  particular  case 
throbbing  before  us  with  such  suffering  as  man  never  bore,  it 
seems  to  be  impertinent  in  its  dignity,  and  to  aggravate  the 
wound  which  the  man  ought  to  have  attempted  to  heal.  These 
grand  religious  commonplaces  which  Bildad  utters  are  right, 
they  are  stately,  they  are  necessary  to  the  completion  of  the 
great  fabric  of  theological  and  spiritual  truth ;  but  how  to  bring 
them  down  to  the  immediate  pain,  how  to  extract  sympathy 
from  them,  how  to  make  all  heaven  so  little  that  it  can  come 
into  a  broken  heart,  has  not  entered  into  the  imagination  of  this 
comfortless  comforter. 

Was  there  an  undertone  in  his  voice,  was  there  anything 
between  the  lines  in  the  curious  speech  with  which  he  concluded 

the  conference? 

"  How  then  can  man  be  justified  with  God  ?  or  how  can  he  be  clean  that 
is  born  of  a  woman  ?  "  (xxv.  4). 

Is  there  not  more  than  theology  in  that  inquiry  ?  Perhaps 
not  to  the  consciousness  of  the  speaker  himself  Yet  we  often 
say  things  which  we  do  not  put  into  definite  words.  There  is 
a  region  of  inference  in  human  association,  and  fellowship,  and 


264  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,        [Job xxv.-xxvii. 

education.  Was  the  inquiry  equal  to  saying,  We  have  done 
with  thee ;  we  cannot  work  this  miracle  of  curing  thine  obstinacy, 
O  thou  woman-born ;  thou  art  like  all  the  rest  of  thy  race ;  thou 
hast  thy  mother's  obstinacy  in  thee — a  stubbornness  that  nothing 
can  melt,  or  straighten,  or  in  any  wise  be  rendered  manageable  : 
how  can  he  be  clean  that  is  born  of  a  woman  ?  how  can  a  man 
such  as  thou  art,  and,  indeed,  such  as  we  ourselves  are,  be  set 
right  if  once  wrong  in  the  head  and  in  the  heart  ?  Bildad  did 
not  say  all  that  in  words ;  yet  we  may  so  preach  even  a  gospel 
discourse  as  to  lead  men  to  think  that  we  have  formed  but  a 
low  opinion  of  them,  and  have  no  expectations  as  to  their 
graciousness  of  reply.  We  may  be  evangelical,  yet  critical.  We 
may  ask  a  question  in  a  tone  which  conveys  the  reply.  Bildad 
would  hurl  the  stars  at  Job,  and  pluck  the  fair  moon — that 
goddess  of  the  dead  in  Oriental  dreaming — and  throw  it  at  the 
suffering  patriarch,  that  they  might  all  wallow  in  a  common 
depravity  and  corruption — a  heap  of  things  unclean !  We 
should  be  careful  how  we  pluck  the  stars.  Better  let  them 
hang  where  God  put  them,  and  shine  as  much  as  they  can  upon 
a  land  that  is  often  dark.  Our  little  hands  were  never  meant  to 
gather  such  flowers  and  present  them  even  as  gifts  of  fragrance 
to  other  people.  Let  us  keep  steadfastly  within  our  own  limits, 
and  talk  such  medicable  and  helpful  words  as  we  can  out  of  our 
own  sympathetic  hearts,  measured  and  toned  and  adjusted  by 
a  mysterious  and  subtle  sympathy. 

Now  Job  becomes  the  sole  speaker.  We  have  now  to  enter 
upon  a  wonderful  parable.  He  has  lost  nothing  of  eloquence 
by  all  this  controversial  talk.  He  speaks  the  better  now  he 
has  shaken  his  comforters  from  him,  and  he  will  deliver  a  great 
parable-sermon,  apparently  miscellaneous,  yet  not  wholly  un- 
connected. The  marvellous  thing  is  that  this  man  has  lost 
everything  but  his  mind.  Is  there  a  drearier  condition  on  earth, 
when  viewed  in  one  aspect  ?  Do  we  not  sometimes  say.  Thank 
God,  he  was  unconscious ;  he  did  not  know  what  he  was  suffer- 
ing ;  the  medical  attendant  says  he  could  not  feel  the  pain  ;  his 
poor  mind,  his  sensibility,  quite  gone :  that  is  something  to  be 
thankful  for.  We  had  a  kind  meaning  in  that  comment.  But 
here  is  a  man  whose  mind  is  twice  quickened — more  a  mind 


fouiYBT. 


_.  _. ^■ 

Job  xxv.-xxvii.]      Q  UIET  RBSTING-PLA  CBS. 


than  it  ever  was.  He  feels  a  shadow;  a  spirit  cannot  pass 
before  him  without  some  sign  of  masonry,  without  some  signal 
which  the  too-quickened  mind  of  Job  would  instantly  understand. 
All  gone  :  the  grave  all  set  in  order  before  him :  the  remembered 
prosperity  hanging  like  a  great  cloud  all  round  about  him  :  not 
a  child  to  touch  him  into  hopefulness  of  life ;  not  a  kind  voice 
to  salute  him,  saying,  Cheer  thee  !  the  darkest  hour  is  just  before 
the  dawn  ;  the  angels  are  getting  ready  to  come  to  thee  on  their 
wings  of  light,  and  presently  heaven's  own  morning  will  dawn 
over  thee  in  infinite  whiteness  and  beauty.  Yet  his  mind  was 
left.  How  eloquent  he  was  1  He  could  set  forth  his  sorrow  in 
something  like  equivalent  words.  He  knew  every  pain  that 
was  piercing  him.  The  river  of  his  tears  hid  nothing  from  him 
as  to  the  fountains  whence  they  sprang.  Is  not  misery  doubled 
by  our  sensitiveness  as  to  its  presence  ?  Do  we  not  increase 
our  suffering  by  knowing  just  what  the  loss  means?  This  is 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  Providence,  that  a  man  should  have 
nothing  left  but  his  sense  of  loss ;  that  a  man  should  find  himself 
in  a  universe  of  cloud,  crying,  without  even  the  friendship  of 
an  echo  to  keep  him  company.  To  such  depths  have  some  men 
been  driven.  Do  we  not  thank  God  for  their  experience  now 
and  again,  because  it  shows  us  how  in  comparison  our  grief  is 
very  little,  our  complaint  is  not  worth  utterance,  our  condition 
is  blessed  as  compared  with  their  sorrow-stricken  hearts  ?  On 
the  other  hand,  is  it  not  comforting  that  the  man's  mind  should 
have  been  left  ?  There  is  something  grand  even  in  this  agony. 
A  man  who  could  talk  as  Job  talks  in  this  elaborate  parable  is 
not  poor ;  his  riches  are  indeed  of  another  kind  and  quality,  but 
they  are  riches  still.  "  Oh,  to  create  within  the  mind  is  bliss  !  " 
To  have  that  marvellous  power  of  withdrawment  from  all  things 
merely  outward,  or  that  more  marvellous  power  of  seeing  things 
merely  outward  as  stairways  up  to  celestial  places,  is  to  have 
wealth  that  can  never  be  lost,  so  long  as  we  are  true  to  ourselves 
and  anxious  to  respond  to  the  responsibilities  of  life  with  faith- 
fulness and  ^diligence.  Thank  God  for  your  senses  that  are 
left.  This  is  true  even  in  the  deepest  spiritual  experiences.  A 
sorrowing  soul  says — I  feel  as  if  I  had  committed  the  unpardon- 
able sin.  What  is  the  pastor's  answer  to  such  complaint  ?  An 
instantaneous  and  gracious  assurance  to  the  contrary,  because 


266  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,        [Job  xxv.-xxvii. 


the  very  feeling  that  the  sin  may  have  been  committed  is  a  proof 
that  no  such  sin  has  been  done.  He  who  has  committed  the 
unpardonable  sin  knows  nothing  about  it ;  he  is  a  dead  man. 
Who  feels  the  traveller  trampling  over  his  grave  ?  Who  says, 
There  is  a  weight  upon  me,  when  he  is  buried  seven  feet  deep 
in  the  earth  ?  The  very  action  of  sensitiveness  is  charged  with 
religious  significance.  When  you  are  groping  for  God  and  can- 
not find  him,  know  that  even  groping  may  be  prayer;  when 
you  are  filled  with  dissatisfaction  with  your  condition,  and  when 
you  have  to  betake  yourselves  even  to  despised  interjections,  as 
Job  has  had  to  do  now  and  again,  know  that  even  interjection 
may  be  theology  of  the  best  kind,  poetry,  prayer,  worship.  Woe 
be  unto  him  who  would  seek  in  any  wise  to  diminish  the  hope 
of  souls  that  feel  their  need  of  God. 

In  all  his  tumultuous  but  noble  talk  Job  now  and  again  opens 
a  great  door  as  if  in  a  rock,  and  enters  into  a  sanctuary  perfect  in 
its  security ;  then  he  comes  out  again,  and  plunges  into  clouds 
and  wintry  winds;  then  suddenly  he  enters  a  refuge  once  more, 
and  praises  God  in  an  asylum  of  rocks;  yet  he  will  not  abide 
there :  so  in  all  this  parable  he  is  in  a  great  refuge  and  out  of  it ; 
he  is  resting  upon  a  pillow  made  soft  by  the  hands  of  God,  and 
then  he  will  perversely  wander  amongst  speculations  and  conjec- 
tures and  self-criticisms,  and  come  home  with  head  fallen  upon 
his  breast,  and  tears  stopping  the  hymn  of  praise.  This  parable 
is  true.  Whether  spoken  in  this  particular  literary  form  or  not, 
there  is  not  one  untrue  line  in  it.  It  is  the  parable  of  the  earnest 
soul  in  all  ages,  in  all  lands.  It  would  fit  the  experience  of  men 
who  have  never  heard  of  the  Bible.  It  is  a  great  human  parable. 
When  the  Bible  itself  becomes  special  its  speciality  acquires  most 
of  its  significance  from  the  fact  that  the  larger  part  of  the  Bible 
is  itself  commonplace — that  is  to  say,  adapted  not  to  one  com- 
munity or  another,  but  to  man  in  all  his  conscious  want  of  strength 
and  light  and  peace. 

Job  comes  as  it  were  suddenly  upon  an  idea  which  sustains 
him. 

"Hell  is  naked  before  him,  and  destruction  hath  no  covering.  He 
stretcheth  out  the  north  over  the  empty  place,  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon 
nothingi     He  bindeth  up  the  waters  in  his  thick  clouds;  and  the  cloud  is 


Job  xxv.-xxvii.]      <2  ^lET  RESTING-PLA  CES.  267 

not  rent  under  them.  He  holdeth  back  the  face  of  his  throne,  and  spreadeth 
his  cloud  upon  it.  He  hath  compassed  the  waters  with  bounds,  until  the 
day  and  night  come  to  an  end.  The  pillars  of  heaven  tremble  and  are 
astonished  at  his  reproof.  He  divideth  the  sea  with  his  power,  and  by 
his  understanding  he  smiteth  through  the  proud.  By  his  spirit  he  hath 
garnished  the  heavens;  his  hand  hath  formed  the  crooked  serpent"  (xxvi. 
6-13). 

Here  at  all  events  is  a  sense  of  almightiness,  sovereignty, 
something  that  can  be  got  hold  of.  We  must  beware  how  we 
credit  Job  with  true  astronomical  ideas  as  to  the  poising  of  the 
north  over  the  empty  place,  and  the  hanging  of  the  earth  upon 
nothing.  Let  us  call  it  Hebrew  poetry.  We  must  be  careful 
how  we  seize  any  one  point  even  that  is  exact,  and  make  that  too 
much  of  an  argument,  because  when  we  come  upon  points  that 
are  not  so  applicable  how  can  we  refuse  their  being  turned  as 
against  the  biblical  contention  ?  There  is  no  need  to  make  this  a 
merely  astronomic  discovery :  but  poetry  does  sometimes  outrun 
science,  and  get  the  truth  first  of  all.  The  expression  may  have 
to  be  dressed  a  little,  modified  somewhat,  perhaps  lowered  in 
temperature ;  but  even  poetry  is  a  child  of  God.  The  idea  that 
abides  is  the  conception  of  the  almightiness  that  keeps  things 
in  their  places.  Who  can  turn  the  north  into  the  south  ?  Who 
can  take  the  earth  out  of  the  emptiness  which  it  apparently 
occupies,  and  set  it  upon  pillars?  On  what  would  the  pillars 
stand?  How  do  the  stars  keep  in  their  courses?  Why  is  it 
they  do  not  break  away  ?  If  heaven  should  come  down  upon  us 
we  should  be  crushed  :  what  keeps  the  great,  blue,  kind  heaven 
up  where  it  is,  as  if  for  our  use  and  enjoyment  only  ?  Suppose 
we  cannot  tell,  that  does  not  deprive  us  of  the  consciousness  that 
the  heaven  is  so  kept,  because  there  stands  the  obvious  and 
gracious  fact.  What,  then,  has  the  soul  to  do  in  relation  to  these 
natural  supports,  these  proofs  that  somehow  things  are  kept  in 
order  and  are  set  to  music?  The  conception  coming  out  of  this 
view  is  a  conception  of  omnipotence.  The  soul  is  intended  to 
reason  thus  :  Who  keeps  these  things  in  their  places  has  power 
to  guide  my  poor  little  life;  whatever  ability  it  was  that  con- 
structed the  heavens,  it  is  not  wanting  in  skill  and  energy  in  the 
matter  of  building  up  my  poor  life  into  shapeliness  and  utility; 
I  will,  therefore,  worship  here  if  I  cannot  go  further;  I  will  say, 
O  Great  Power,  be  thy  name  what  it  may,  take  me  up  into  thy 


268  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,        [Job xxv.-xxvii. 

plan  of  order  and  movement;  make  me  part  of  the  obedient 
universe:  art  thou  deaf?  canst  thou  speak?  I  know  not,  but  it 
does  me  good  to  cry  in  the  dark  and  to  tell  thee,  if  thou  canst 
hear,  that  I  want  to  be  part  of  the  living  economy  over  which 
thou  dost  preside.  Disdain  no  pagan  prayer.  No  prayer, 
indeed,  is  pagan  in  any  sense  that  deserves  contempt.  Our  first 
prayers  have  sometimes  been  our  best ;  blurred  with  tears,  choked 
or  interrupted  with  penitential  sobbing,  they  have  yet  told  the 
heart's  tale  in  a  way  which  could  be  understood  by  the  listening 
Love,  which  we  call  by  the  name  of  God — sometimes  by  the 
name  of  Father.  Seize  then  the  idea  of  Omnipotence  ;  it  covers 
all  other  conceptions ;  it  is  the  base-line  of  all  argument ;  it  gives 
us  a  starting  thought.  Do  not  be  particular  about  giving  a  name 
to  it,  or  defining  it ;  enter  into  the  consciousness  of  the  reality 
of  such  a  Power,  and  begin  there  to  pray — at  least  to  stumble  in 
prayer. 

Then  Job  utters  a  word  which  will  be  abiding  in  its  significance 
and  in  its  comfort — 

"Lo,  these  are  parts  of  his  ways:  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of 
him?  but  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand?"  (xxvL  14). 

The  man  who  said  that  was  not  left  comfortless.  Sometimes  in 
our  very  desolateness  we  say  things  so  deep  and  true  as  to  prove 
that  we  are  not  desolate  at  all,  if  we  were  only  wise  enough  to 
seize  the  comfort  of  the  very  power  which  sustains  us.  He  who 
has  a  great  thought  has  a  great  treasure.  A  noble  conception  is 
an  incorruptible  inheritance.  Job's  idea  is  that  we  hear  but  a 
whisper.  Lo :  this  is  a  feeble  whispering :  the  universe  is  a 
subdued  voice;  even  when  it  thunders  it  increases  the  whisper 
inappreciably  as  to  bulk  and  force :  all  that  is  now  possible  to  me, 
Job  would  say,  is  but  the  hearing  of  a  whisper ;  but  the  whisper 
means  that  I  shall  hear  more  by-and-by ;  behind  the  whispering 
there  is  a  great  thundering,  a  thunder  of  power;  I  could  not  bear 
it  now ;  the  whisper  is  a  gospel,  the  whisper  is  an  adaptation  to 
my  aural  capacity;  it  is  enough,  it  is  music,  it  is  the  tone  of  love, 
it  is  what  I  need  in  my  littleness  and  weariness,  in  my  initial 
manhood.  How  many  controversies  this  would  settle  if  it  could 
only  be  accepted  in  its  entirety  I  We  know  in  part,  therefore 
we  prophesy  in  part;  we  see  only  very  little  p*Jitions  of  things, 


Job  xxv.-xxvii.]      Q UIET  RESTING-PLA  CES.  269 

therefore  we  do  not  pronounce  an  opinion  upon  the  whole ;  we 
hear  a  whisper,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  we  can  understand 
the  thunder.  There  is  a  Christian  agnosticism.  Why  are  men 
afraid  to  be  Christian  agnostics?  Why  should  we  hesitate  to 
say  with  patriarchs  and  apostles,  I  cannot  tell,  I  do  not  know; 
I  am  blind,  and  cannot  see  in  that  particular  direction;  I  am 
waiting  ?  What  we  hear  now  is  a  whisper,  but  a  whisper  that 
is  a  promise.  We  must  let  many  mysteries  alone.  No  candle 
can  throw  a  light  upon  a  landscape.  We  must  know  just 
what  we  are  and  where  we  are,  and  say  we  are  of  yesterday, 
and  know  nothing  when  we  come  into  the  presence  of  many  a 
solemn  mystery.  Yet  how  much  we  do  know  I  enough  to  live 
upon ;  enough  to  go  into  the  world  with  as  fighting  men,  that  we 
may  dispute  with  error,  and  as  evangelistic  men,  that  we  may 
reveal  the  gospel.  They  have  taken  from  us  many  words  which 
they  must  bring  back  again.  When  Rationalism  is  restored 
amongst  the  stolen  vessels  of  the  Church,  Agnosticism  also  will 
be  brought  in  as  one  of  the  golden  goblets  that  belong  to  the 
treasure  of  the  sanctuary.  We,  too,  are  agnostics :  we  do  not 
know,  we  cannot  tell ;  we  cannot  turn  the  silence  into  speech, 
but  we  know  enough  to  enable  us  to  wait.  Amid  all  this  difficulty 
of  ignorance  we  hear  a  voice  saying,  What  thou  knowest  not  now, 
thou  shalt  know  hereafter :  I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now :  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have 
told  you, — as  if  to  say,  I  know  how  much  to  tell,  and  when  to 
tell  it.     Little  children,  trust  your  Lord. 

Now  Job  gathers  himself  together  again,  and  coming  out  in  an 
attitude  of  noble  gracious  strength,  he  says — 

"  I  will  teach  you  by  the  hand  of  God  :  that  which  is  with  the  Almighty 
will  I  not  conceal  "  (xxvii.  11). 

Who  is  it  that  proposes  to  teach  ?  Actually  the  suffering  man 
himself.  The.  suffering  man  must  always  become  teacher.  Who 
can  teach  so  well  ?  Now  he  begins  to  see  a  new  function  in  life. 
Hitherto  he  has  been  "  my  lord."  He  says, — I  was  eyes  to  the 
blind,  and  feet  was  I  to  the  lame :  when  I  passed  by  the  elders 
rose  up  and  saluted  me,  and  young  men  fled  from  my  path  : 
I  was  a  prince  amongst  men.  The  talk  was  indeed  haughty,  as 
became  a  fine  sheik,  a  gentleman  of  Eastern  lands,  overloaded 


2/0  THE  FEOFLE'S  BIBLE.        [Jobxxv.-xxviL 

with  estates ;  but  now,  having  passed  through  all  this  sorrow,  he 
says,  "  I  will  teach  you."  Not  only  so,  'M  will  teach  you  by  the 
hand  of  God."  Sorrow  is  always  eloquent.  True  suffering  is 
always  expository,  as  well  as  comforting.  Have  we  not  seen 
that  there  are  many  chapters  of  the  Bible  which  a  prosperous 
man  cannot  read  ?  He  can  spell  them,  parse  them,  pronounce 
the  individual  words  correctly,  but  he  cannot  read  them,  round 
them  into  music,  speak  them  with  the  eloquence  of  the  heart, 
utter  them  with  his  soul ;  because  they  can  only  be  read  by  the 
lame  and  the  blind,  and  the  sorrow-laden  and  the  poor :  but  oh, 
how  they  can  read  them  1  Keep  away  the  rhetorician  from  the 
twenty-third  Psalm  ;  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John  ;  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  For  a  man  who  knows  nothing  but  words  to  read  such 
passages  is  blasphemy.  Sometimes  they  cannot  be  read  aloud ; 
they  can  only  be  read  to  the  heart  by  the  heart  itself.  So  it 
is  with  preaching.  Here  it  is  that  the  older  man  has  a  great 
advantage  over  the  young  man.  Not  that  the  young  man  should 
be  deprived  of  an  opportunity  of  speaking  in  the  time  of  zeal  and 
prophetic  hopefulness.  Nothing  of  the  kind.  The  young  man 
has  a  work  to  do,  but  there  are  some  texts  which  he  must  let  alone 
for  a  good  many  years  ;  they  do  not  yet  belong  to  him ;  when  he 
reaches  his  majority  then  he  will  have  his  property,  so  to  say, 
given  to  him,  and  he  can  use  it  in  harmony  with  the  donor's 
will.  The  young  man  must  be  zealous,  perhaps  efflorescent, 
certainly  enthusiastic,  occasionally  somewhat  eccentric  and  even 
wild  :  but  was  not  Paul  himself  sometimes  a  fool  in  glorying  ? 
He  would  have  been  a  less  apostle  if  he  had  been  a  more  careful 
man.  He  plunged  into  the  great  work;  he  leaped  into  it,  and 
seemed  to  say  to  the  sea,  O  sea,  thyself  teach  me  how  to  swim, 
that  I  may  come  right  again  to  the  shore.  So  we  need  the 
young,  ardent,  fearless,  enthusiastic,  chivalrous ;  but  at  the  same 
time  who  can  teach  like  the  man  who  has  suffered  most  ?  He 
knows  all  the  weight  of  agony,  all  the  load  of  grief,  all  the  loneli- 
ness of  bereavement.  He  tells  you  how  deep  was  the  first  grave 
he  dug.  Then  you  begin  to  think  that  your  grief  was  not  quite 
so  deep  as  his.  He  has  lost  wife,  or  child,  or  friend,  or  property, 
or  health,  or  hope.  He  tells  how  the  battle  went,  how  cold  the 
wind  was,  how  tempestuous  the  storm,  how  tremendous  the  foe^ 
how  nearly  once  he  was  lost,  and  was  saved  as  by  the  last  and 


Jobxxv.-xxvii.]      QUIET  RESTING-PLACES.  271 

supreme  miracle  of  God.  As  he  talks^  you  begin  to  take  heart 
again ;  from  providence  you  reason  to  redemption ;  and  thus  by 
help  of  the  suffering  teacher  the  soul  revives,  and  God's  blessing 
comes  upon  the  life.  Young  persons  should  be  patient  with  men 
who  are  talking  out  of  the  depths  of  their  experience.  It  is 
sometimes  difficult  to  sit  and  hear  an  older  man  talk  about  life's 
battles  and  life's  sorrows,  when  to  the  young  hearer  life  is  a 
dream,  a  holiday,  a  glad  recreation ;  the  ear  full  of  the  music  of 
chiming  bells,  wedding  metal  clashing  out  its  nuptial  music  to  the 
willing  wind  to  be  carried  everywhere,  a  gospel  of  festivity  and 
joy.  We  would  not  chill  you,  we  would  not  shorten  the  feast  by 
one  mouthful ;  but  the  flowers  that  bedeck  the  table  are  plucked 
flowers,  and  when  a  flower  is  plucked  it  dies. 

Sorrowing  men,  broken  hearts,  souls  conscious  of  loss  and 
desolation,  the  story  of  the  patriarchs  will  be  lost  upon  us  if  we 
do  not  apply  it  to  ourselves  as  a  balm,  a  cordial,  a  gospel  intended 
for  our  use  and  privilege.  Risk  it  all  by  taking  the  comfort. 
But  are  we  worthy  of  the  comfort  ?  Do  not  attempt  too  much 
analysis.  There  are  some  things  by  which  analysis  is  resisted  ; 
they  say.  If  you  thus  take  us  to  pieces  you  will  lose  the  very 
thing  we  meant  to  convey  to  you.  We  have  heard  of  the  patience 
of  Job,  we  have  listened  to  his  colloquies  with  his  friends,  and 
seen  how  they  have  been  puzzled  and  bewildered ;  Job  has  now 
come  into  the  parabolical '  period  of  speech :  presently  another 
voice  will  come  across  the  whole  scene — a  young  yoice,  bell-like 
in  tone,  incisive ;  a  young  man  who  will  take  up  another  tone 
of  talk  altogether,  and  then  the  great  whirlwind  platform  will  be 
erected,  and  from  its  lofty  heights  there  will  come  a  tempest  of 
questions;  then  will  come  the  long  eventide — quiet,  solemn, 
more  hopeful  than  a  morning  dawn.  Meanwhile,  at  this  point, 
here  is  the  feast  of  comfort.  The  suffering  man  says.  We  only 
know  a  part,  we  only  hear  a  whisper  :  the  great  thunder  has  not 
yet  broken  upon  us  because  we  are  not  prepared  for  it.  Let  us 
stand  in  this,  that  God  is  working  out  a  great  plan,  and  must  not 
be  interrupted  in  the  continuance  of  his  labour,  in  the  integrity 
of  his  purpose.  O  mighty,  gracious,  miracle-working  Son  of  God, 
help  us  to  wait  I 


Chapter  xxviii. 
WHAT  IS  WISDOM  P 

WHEN  Job  says  '*  Surely  there  is  a  vein  for  the  silver, 
and  a  place  for  gold  where  they  fine  it"  (v.  i),  many 
persons  cannot  see  the  connection  between  this  part  of  the 
speech  and  the  verses  with  which  the  twenty-seventh  chapter  con- 
cludes. The  speaker  seems  to  break  away  entirely  from  the  main 
current  of  his  discourse  and  to  begin  a  totally  different  subject. 
He  does  so,  however  in  appearance  only  and  not  in  reality. 

The  patriarch  has  been  talking  about  the  rich  man — "This 
is  the  portion  of  a  wicked  man  with  God,  and  the  heritage  of 
oppressors,  which  they  shall  receive  of  the  Almighty."  He 
pictures  the  rich  man  as  heaping  up  silver  like  the  dust,  and 
preparing  raiment  as  the  clay.  Now  he  says,  All  that  the  rich 
man  has  is  known  as  to  its  origin  and  weight  and  value ;  there 
is  nothing  mysterious  about  him  ;  that  is  to  say,  there  is  nothing 
spiritual  or  ghostly :  whatever  he  has  we  can  take  back  to  the 
very  place  it  came  from,  and  can  say  to  it,  You  originated  here  j 
you  were  cut  out  from  this  vein  or  seam,  or  were  found  in  this 
quarry,  or  were  brought  from  this  forest  or  garden,  or  were 
lifted  out  of  this  river  or  sea  :  we  know  all  about  you ;  you  are 
quite  a  measurable  quantity;  you  are  lacking  in  the  subtle 
value  and  suggestiveness  of  mystery :  you  are  all  surface ;  you 
can  -be  weighed,  measured,  appraised;  your  place  is  in  the 
market  where  things  are  bought  and  sold  ;  so  much  gold  will  buy 
you  every  one,  however  great  and  brilliant  soever  you  may 
be :  there  is  no  mystery  about  the  rich  man's  possessions. 
This  is  a  fact  full  of  significance.  Job  takes  it  in  that  light 
wholly.  He  acknowledges  that  man  can  do  many  wonderful 
things.  We  are  not  reading  about  God  but  about  man  when 
we  read— 


Jobxxviii.]  WHAT  IS  WISDOM?  173 

"He  putteth  forth  his  hand  upon  the  rock;  he  overturneth  the  moun- 
•  tains  by  the  roots.     He  cutteth  out  rivers  among  the  rocks ;  and  his  eye 
seeth  every  precious  thing.    He  bindeth  the  floods  from  overflowing;  and 
the  thing  that  is  hid  bringeth  he  forth  to  light"  (vv.  9-11). 

Man  is  a  digger.  Man  is  a  miner  by  nature.  Man  cannot  live 
upon  surfaces.  Even  when  he  is  not  religious  he  is  explorative  : 
even  when  he  will  not  pray  he  will  dig.  You  cannot  keep  him 
to  the  surface.  He  has  a  prying  spirit;  he  has  a  knocking 
hand ;  if  he  cannot  analyse  he  will  tear  to  pieces  :  but  bind 
him  upon  the  surface  you  cannot.  It  is  one  of  two  things  with 
man:  either  he  will  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  seeking 
home  and  rest  away  where  the  morning  is  born;  or  he  will 
go  the  other  road,  and  dig  into  the  earth  to  find  what  may  be 
locked  up  there.  Is  there  not  a  beginning  at  least  of  religious 
life  even  in  this  desire  to  find  out  what  is  under  the  surface 
of  things  ?  We  find  our  way  from  the  known  to  the  unknown. 
We  find  bread  in  the  earth.  It  is  wonderful  that  man  will 
insist  upon  breaking  open  the  iron  safes  of  nature  and  enriching 
himself  with  boundless  wealth.  Is  he  a  thief,  or  is^  he  a 
student  ?  Is  he  to  be  branded  as  a  felon,  or  to  be  congratulated 
as  being  under  the  inspiration  of  a  discontentment  which  will  not 
rest  until  it  has  made  further  acquisition?  Let  us  understand 
our  own  nature.  We  may  be  religious  when  we  do  not  think 
we  are  so.  There  is  a  worldliness  that  is  not  without  its 
religious  aspect.  He  who  wants  to  go  further  and  further  may 
be  really  obeying  a  religious  impulse.  A  man  stands  on  the 
shore  and  says — I  know  there  is  something  beyond  that  water : 
nothing  can  persuade  me  to  the  contrary :  beyond  that  lake 
there  are  shores  and  wildernesses  and  boundless  spaces.  When 
a  man  talks  thus  he  is  talking  religiously,  though  he  may  not 
be  talking  theologically.  Let  us  bring  as  many  people  as  we  can 
under  this  great  dome  of  the  sanctuary;  it  should  never  be 
ours  to  make  the  number  less,  but  always  to  make  it  more, — 
to  tell  men  that  really  whatever  they  are  doing  with  an  honest 
heart  and  a  determined  mind,  if  it  tend  to  the  enlargement 
of  knowledge,  the  extension  of  liberty,  the  advancement  of 
progress,  it  is  in  the  soul  of  it  religious.  So  there  are  two 
aspects  to  this  picture  drawn  by  the  hand  of  Job.  In  one 
aspect  the  rich  man  is  seen  but  to  be  a  possessor  of  things 
VOL.  zi.  18 


37*  ^HE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  fjobxxviii. 

measurable,  numerable,  and  estimable;  he  has  nothing  but 
what  is  self-contained :  on  the  other  hand,  the  picture  may 
present  the  aspect  of  men  who  are  discontented  with  things  they 
find  to  their  hands ;  men  who  ask  for  something  more  than  they 
have  yet  gotten ;  digging  men,  mining  men ;  and  the  religious 
teacher  should  be  the  first  to  say,  If  there  is  not  enough  on  the 
surface  of  things  for  you,  then  by  your  very  digging  you  are 
beginning  to  pray :  search  on :  we  do  not  arrest  you  in  boring 
the  earth ;  we  rather  congratulate  you,  and  would  facilitate 
your  progress ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  not  enough  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth  for  you  :  break  open  the  rock,  overturn 
the  roots  of  the  mountain,  and  see  if  there  be  under  all  these 
weights  and  pressures  the  thing  which  will  really  satisfy  you. 
Why,  then,  be  impatient  with  men  who  cannot  read  our  religious 
books?  They  will  read  other  books.  So  far,  so  good.  Let 
them  do  so.  The  time  will  come  when  they  will  want  the  upper 
book,  the  larger  writing,  the  fuller  scroll.  But  it  is  just  possible, 
such  being  their  temperament  and  quality  of  mind,  that  they 
will  not  come  to  the  upper  and  better  things  until  they  have 
outwearied  themselves  in  lower  researches  or  in  initial  enter- 
prises. Whoever  is  seeking  honest  bread  is  a  religious  man. 
He  may  never  have  been  to  church,  or  bent  his  knee  in  prayer, 
or  looked  up  searchingly  to  the  heavens  if  mayhap  he  may  have 
overlooked  something  shining  there:  but  the  very  search  for 
honest  bread,  bread  that  shall  be  an  equivalent  for  honest  labour, 
is  itself  a  moral  action  ;  and  there  never  was  a  moral  action  that 
had  not  in  it  the  beginning  or  suggestion  of  a  religious  life. 

Now  Job  points  in  another  direction ;  he  says — 

"There  is  a  path  which  no  fowl  knoweth,  and  which  the  vulture's  eye 
hath  not  seen :  the  lion's  whelps  have  not  trodden  it,  nor  the  fierce  lion 
passed  by  it"  (w.  7,  8). 

What  is  the  meaning  of  this?  There  is  an  unknown  road 
which  has  not  yet  been  discovered ;  there  is  something  beyond, 
or  something  more :  we  know  it  without  knowing  it ;  that  is  to 
say,  we  know  it  without  being  able  to  explain  it  or  set  it  forth 
in  words ;  we  feel  it,  we  are  sure  of  it  Why  should  there  be 
any  difiiculty  in  accepting  this  doctrine  ?  This  is  a  doctrine 
which  holds   good   in   philosophy,  in   science,   in  commercial 


Job  xxviii.]  WHA  T  IS   WISD  OM  ?  275 

progress,  in  the  whole  range  of  education.  Men  have  not  gone 
forth  to  find  out  something  in  whose  existence  they  had  no 
belief.  When  the  miner  first  struck  his  iron  into  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  he  seemed  to  say  by  that  very  act — I  know  I  shall 
find  precious  things  below.  If  he  had  had  the  assurance  that 
the  further  he  went  his  findings  would  be  less  valuable,  he  would 
certainly  lay  down  his  instrument,  for  he  would  have  no  time 
or  taste  for  vain  inquiries  and  prosecutions ;  but  when  the  strong 
man  took  his  iron  in  hand  and  struck  the  face  of  the  earth  with 
it  and  went  further  down,  wounding  the  earth  as  he  went,  he 
was  saying  to  himself  after  every  blow — I  shall  come  to  the  gold 
presently,  or  the  silver,  or  the  precious  stone:  all  this  energy 
means  result  of  a  precious  kind.  So  when  the  astronomer  has 
turned  his  telescope  in  this  direction,  or  that,  he  has  said  by  the 
very  action,  I  know  there  is  something  there,  in  this  very  line, 
which  we  have  not  yet  found  out,  and  night  by  night,  and  year 
by  year,  I  will  watch  until  I  find  what  it  is  that  causes  these 
perturbations,  or  flutterings,  or  vibrations,  or  shadows:  that 
mystery  I  will  have.  Why,  then,  all  this  hesitation  when  the 
mystery  lies  in  a  religious  direction,  when  men  say.  There  is 
something  yet  unknown  :  a  bright  eye  has  the  vulture,  but  some- 
thing has  escaped  it ;  a  fierce  glare,  even  in  the  darkness,  has 
the  lion,  but  there  is  something  which  has  not  yet  come  within 
the  lion's  ken, — a  path  we  could  not  travel ;  invisible,  impalpable, 
intangible,  but  there  it  is,  a  road  away  upward  and  onward  into 
things  infinite  and  eternal.  We  have  just  said  that  there  is  a' 
Christian  agnosticism  ;  we  have  determined  that  the  word  agnos- 
ticism shall  not  go  forth  alone  without  limit  or  definition;  the 
Christian  claims  it  as  certainly  as  any  other  man ;  the  Christian 
is  the  first  to  say,  Certainly  there  is  a  great  unknown  force  in 
the  universe :  unquestionably  God  himself  cannot  be  known 
intellectually  to  perfection :  undoubtedly  there  are  many  points 
at  which  Christians  must  stand  and  say.  Let  us  wait  here,  not 
with  impatience,  but  with  religious  quietude  and  with  the  certainty 
of  a  glorious  hope  :  the  gate  will  open  presently  or  ultimately, 
but  until  it  does  open  we  must  not  use  violence ;  we  must,  as 
it  were,  overcome  God  by  growing  up  to  him  and  by  the  impor- 
tunity of  patience.  Throughout  the  Bible  this  acknowledgment 
of  the  unknown  quantity  is  found,  page  after  page.     All  things 


276  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxviii. 

are  not  known  in  the  Church.  It  is  when  the  Church  assumes 
to  have  finality  of  knowledge  that  it  becomes  the  representative 
of  the  most  vicious  and  destructive  of  despotisms.  When  the 
Church  is  humble,  modest,  self-controlled,  it  will  say, — We  know 
in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part,  and  until  that  which  is  perfect 
is  come  we  cannot  know  in  fulness  of  detail.  So  long  as  the 
Church  will  say, — There  are  a  thousand  mysteries  of  which  we 
have  no  explanation — the  Church  will  acquire  greater  credit  for 
the  maintenance  of  those  points  upon  which  she  is  happily  and 
graciously  certain;  but  when  the  certain  and  the  uncertain  are 
talked  of  together  with  equal  glibness,  what  wonder  if  scepticism 
should  at  least  be  encouraged  or  suggested?  In  the  highest 
religious  thinking  we  have  rock  enough  on  which  to  build  a 
grand  house ;  we  have  cloud  enough  to  hide  a  universe :  let  us 
build  where  we  can,  and  pray  when  we  can  no  longer  build. 

Now  Job  turns  in  a  third  direction ;  he  says — 

*'  But  where  shall  wisdom  be  found  ?  and  where  is  the  place  of  under- 
standing ?  "  (v.  12). 

We  have  found  the  gold,  and  the  silver,  and  the  jewel,  and 
the  crystal,  "but" —  How  modern  is  this  very  ancient  book! 
Cannot  man  be  satisfied  with  gold  and  silver  and  jewel,  with 
ruby  and  sapphire  ?  He  cannot.  He  thinks  he  can  ;  he  says  if 
he  had  another  handful  of  diamonds  he  would  be  quite  satisfied; 
he  no  sooner  gets  the  handful  of  precious  property  than  he  says, 
It  was  not  this  that  I  wanted,  but  something  other  and  different. 
There  is  no  contentment  along  the  line  material ;  no  resting- 
places  have  been  provided  in  the  line  of  material  substance  and 
enjoyment :  it  is  all  fatigue,  vexation,  disappointment,  vanity ; 
it  is  always  the  next  thing  that  is  going  to  bring  the  sabbath 
of  the  week,  the  benediction  that  should  rest  upon  labour,  but 
that  thing  never  comes  along  that  weary  line.  We  know  it.  Not 
the  moralists  or  pietists  have  told  us  this ;  we  have  found  it  out 
ourselves.  When  the  preacher  says,  "  Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is 
vanity,"  we  say  Amen,  for  the  very  truth  has  been  spoken. 

Look  at  this  "  but  *  in  the  twelfth  verse — "  but  where  shall 
wisdom  be  found  ?  and  where  is  the  place  of  understanding  ?  " 
Men  have  begun  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  one  hemisphere, 


Jobxxviii.]  WHAT  IS   WISDOM ?  2^-] 

and  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  the  other  hemisphere,  and 
they  have,  so  to  say,  met  in  the  centre,  and,  lo,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  wisdom  has  not  been  discovered,  nor  has  the  temple  of 
understanding  been  made  manifest.  What  is  wisdom  ?  Has  it 
shape  ?  Shape  it  has  none.  Is  it  a  coloured  thing  ?  Of  colour 
it  is  destitute.  Has  it  wealth  ?  Not  one  shilling.  What  is  it  ? 
That  is  the  question.  It  must  always  remain  a  question,  because 
after  it  has  been  partially  answered  it  seems  to  grow  up  into 
larger  dimensions ;  every  answer  is  the  beginning  of  a  new 
difficulty,  every  taste  of  wisdom  is  the  creation  of  a  new  appetite. 
Still  man  feels  that  he  must  have  it.  There  is  a  spiritual,  ghostly, 
mysterious  thing  that  we  are  sure  exists,  but  cannot  tell  where. 
Take  spade  and  mattock,  and  go  out  on  summer's  longest  day, 
and  at  eventide  meet  us  somewhere,  and  tell  us  the  result  of 
your  quest.  What  is  it  ?  Where  is  it  ?  It  calculates,  foretells, 
predicts ;  it  corrects  mistakes,  it  heightens  and  controls  instinct ; 
it  whispers  to  the  soul ;  into  the  very  ear  of  the  heart  it  says. 
That  is  right :  That  is  wrong.  Who  has  ever  seen  this  angel  ? 
Is  it  the  first  angel  ?  Was  it  present  when  the  foundations  of 
the  earth  were  laid,  and  the  morning  stars  sang  together  for 
joy,  so  pleased  were  they  with  their  light  ?  Is  it  a  woman- 
angel  ?  Is  it  a  child-angel  ?  On  what  terms  will  the  angel 
come  to  us  ?  These  questions  may  be  put  into  a  variety  of  terms, 
but  they  are  questions  still,  and  they  haunt  the  life,  and  challenge 
the  imagination,  and  suggest  our  best  ambitions.  Here  is  a  book 
which  grapples  with  the  inquiry. 

How  impossible  it  is  to  estimate  the  value  of  wisdom  : — 

"  It  cannot  be  gotten  for  gold,  neither  shall  silver  be  weighed  for  the  price 
thereof.  It  cannot  be  valued  with  the  gold  of  Ophir,  with  the  precious 
onyx,  or  the  sapphire.  The  gold  and  the  crjstal  cannot  equal  it :  and  the 
exchange  of  it  shall  not  be  for  jewels  of  fine  gold.  No  mention  shall  be 
made  of  coral,  or  of  pearls :  for  the  price  of  wisdom  is  above  rubies " 
(vv.  15-18). 

It  has  no  material  equivalent.  Gold  can  be  balanced  by  gold, 
so  that  the  one  scale  shall  be  as  valuable  as  the  other ;  estates 
may  be  brought  into  equipoise  by  gold,  so  that  men  shall  be  as 
wilhng  to  accept  the  one  as  the  other,  for  the  one  is  equal  to  the 
other  in  value ;  but  put  wisdom  in  the  scale,  and  try  to  find  a 


278  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxviii. 

counter-weight.  How  haughty  is  Wisdom  I  To  gold  and  silver, 
and  jewel  and  crystal,  and  onxy  and  sapphire,  she  says,  Go  back : 
ye  may  nbt  touch  this  holy  ground  !  They  have  gone  far,  but 
she  will  not  allow  them  in  her  presence ;  they  have  been  in 
palaces,  but  they  shall  not  go  in  the  sanctuaries:  all  these  precious, 
fair-f..ced,  sweet-voiced  things  have  gone  almost  wherever  they 
pleased  to  go,  and  they  have  been  welcomed  by  standing  men  ; 
but  when  they  have  gone  up  to  the  angel  Wisdom,  that  angel 
has  said — Back,  rude  vulgarity  !  She  has  no  price  in  the  market- 
place. No  man  can  set  a  value  upon  an  idea,  an  inspiration,  a 
great  mental  awakening,  a  spiritual  flash,  a  divine  instinct  which 
marks  off  right  from  wrong  by  an  eternal  definition.  How  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  impress  ourselves  with  this  conviction  1  We  still 
hug  the  material ;  we  are  still  the  victims  of  bulk  and  nearness 
and  weight.  The  spiritual  is  always  undervalued.  The  man 
who  has  something  in  his  hand  is  welcomed  :  the  man  who  has 
something  in  his  mind  must  wait  downstairs  until  my  lord  is  ready 
to  give  him  short  conference.  It  cannot  always  be  so.  Every 
schoolhouse  helps  the  spiritual ;  every  child  that  learns  to  read 
learns  to  vote  for  the  intellectual  as  against  the  merely  material. 
The  hope  of  the  world  is  in  the  schoolhouse.  Every  good  book 
that  is  sold  is  a  step  on  the  upward  road.  Every  healthy  lesson 
that  is  learned  by  the  mind  is  a  blow  dealt  in  the  face  of  despotism, 
tyranny,  oppression,  bondage,  drunkenness,  wrong.  Circulate 
the  elements  of  wisdom.  Open  a  fair,  broad  way  to  the  gates 
of  understanding.  Have  no  fear  of  any  child  or  man  who  reads, 
thinks,  and  is  true  to  deeper  and  broader  thought.  How  haughty 
is  Wisdom  !  She  says  to  all  these  applicants,  and  they  are  many 
— gold,  silver,  gold  of  Ophir,  precious  onyx,  sapphire,  gold  and 
crystal — I  do  not  know  you,  and  as  for  the  topaz  of  Ethiopia, 
throw  it  away ;  it  is  of  no  value  in  the  house  kept  by  Wisdom 
and  lightened  by  Understanding.  On  the  other  hand,  how  con- 
descending is  Wisdom  I  How  willing  to  come  to  the  humble,  the 
teachable,  the  obedient,  the  broken  heart!  **Thus  saith  the  high 
and  lofty  one  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy;" — 
"To  this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  con- 
trite spirit,  and  trembleth  at  my  word."  Wisdom  will  come  to 
the  teachable.  "NYisdom  loves  little  children.  Not  many  mighty, 
not  many  noble  are  called,  but  God  hath  chosen  the  lowly,  the 


Jobxxviii.]  WHAT  IS   WISDOM?  279 

feeble,  and  the  poor,  that  out  of  them  he  might  build  himself  a 
worthy  temple.  We  should  know  more  if  we  knew  less.  We 
should  be  nearer  heaven  if  we  committed  ourselves  to  the  great 
heaven-thought  and  heaven-instinct.  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart :  for  they  shall  see  God."  They  who  are  meek  and  lowly 
in  heart  shall  find  rest  at  the  centre  of  things ;  they  shall  be 
no  longer  driven  about  by  wind,  tossed  by  angry  waves,  but 
shall  rest  and  find  peace  in  the  heart  of  God.  How,  then,  shall 
we  become  more  wise?  By  becoming  more  humble.  How 
shall  we  grow  in  knowledge?  By  growing  in  grace.  How 
shall  we  become  mighty  men,  giants,  and  princes  ?  By  becoming 
little  children,  trustful  because  helpless,  confiding  because  self- 
deficient,  upward-looking  because  made  in  the  likeness  of  God, 
Christ  will  have  no  proud  men  about  him.  The  proud  he  sends 
empty  away,  because  they  are  rich  in  their  own  esteem  and  their 
hands  are  buried  in  plentifulness ;  but  those  who  come  humbly, 
broken-hearted ly,  contritely,  without  self-help  or  self-hope,  saying, 
"  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  he  will  send  away  with  all 
heaven  at  their  command  for  all  possible  exigencies. 

Where,  then,  is  wisdom  to  be  found  ?  and  where  is  the  place 
of  understanding  ?  The  great  revelation  we  find  at  the  close  of 
the  chapter — 

"God  understandeth  the  way  thereof,  and  he  knoweth  the  place  thereof, 
For  he  looketh  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  seeth  under  the  whole  heaven; 
to  make  the  weight  for  the  winds ;  and  he  weigheth  the  waters  by  measure. 
When  he  made  a  decree  for  the  rain,  and  a  way  for  the  lightning  of  the 
thunder:  then  did  he  see  it,  and  declare  it;  he  prepared  it,  yea,  and 
searched  it  out.  And  unto  man  he  said,  Behold,  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is 
wisdom ;  and  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding  "  (vv.  23-28). 

The  text  is  true  to  reason.  It  must  be  wise  to  be  right  with  the 
Creator.  Whatever  that  Creator  is,  we  must  fit  in  with  him  har- 
moniously, if  we  would  be  wise.  What  name  shall  we  give  the 
Creator  ?  Choose  your  own  name,  but  in  order  to  be  at  rest  you 
must  be  in  harmony  with  the  Thing  which  that  name  signifies. 
Call  it  Force, — you  must  not  oppose  it,  or  you  will  be  ground  to 
powder.  You  must  never  meet  the  stars;  you  must  always  go 
along  with  them  ;  if  you  meet  on  the  same  road  they  never  give 
way,  you  then  must  surrender.  Call  it  "  the  fitness  of  things." 
So  be  it.     Let  that  be  God — "the  fitness  of  things,"— everything 


28o  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxviii. 

in  its  own  place,  everything  doing  its  own  work,  everything  in  its 
own  order;  even  if  that  be  so,  you  must  comply  with  it;  you 
must  take  your  own  place  and  not  another  man's,  if  you  would 
be  at  peace  in  a  creation  of  order.  Choose  you  own  name. 
Do  not  let  us  quarrel  about  "God,"  "Law,"  "Force,"  "Neces- 
sity," "  Secret,"  "  Harmony,"  and  "  Fitness  of  things  " :  fix  your 
own  point  where  you  may,  and  still  the  text  is  true  to  reason, 
that  you  cannot  be  right  with  yourself  until  you  are  right  with 
the  central  Thought — Force — Being — that  made  and  controls  all 
things.  So  even  the  atheist  cannot  escape;  the  agnostic  must 
submit.  We  have  been  chaffering  about  words,  and  neglect- 
ing the  reality  of  things.  Whatever — we  will  not  now  say 
whoever — made  the  universe  must  control  it.  That  Spirit — 
Force — Necessity — is  a  tremendous  Thing,  whatever  its  name; 
if  dead,  more  awful  than  we  thought  it  was,  for  we  regarded 
it  as  living  and  merciful,  as  well  as  just. 

Not  only  is  the  tekt  true  to  reason,  it  is  true  to  experience. 
"  To  depart  from  evil  is  understanding."  Evil  blinds  the  mind  ; 
evil  dethrones  the  judgment.  The  bad  man  cannot  have  a  fully 
impartial  and  independent  intellect.  He  has  sinister  ends  in 
view;  he  is  seeking  issues  that  do  not  He  within  the  scope  of 
right  and  justice ;  he  hears  with  one  ear ;  he  sees  but  one  aspect 
of  things.  Evil  denudes  the  soul  of  majesty  and  justice.  We 
know  this  to  be  the  case.  Find  a  judge  in  a  court  of  law  who  takes 
a  bribe,  and  instantly  society  rises  against  him  and  says  he  cannot 
judge  the  case  justly.  Why  not?  May  not  a  man  fill  his  right 
hand  and  his  left  with  the  gold  of  the  parties  and  still  be  just  ? 
No.  Who  says  so  ?  Enlightened  conscience  says  so ,  civilisation 
says  so ;  that  inscrutable  thing  within  a  man  which  you  may  call 
instinct,  if  you  like,  says  so.  He  is  distrusted  who  palters  with 
the  parlies.  So  it  is  through  and  through  life.  Wherever  there 
is  a  bad  man  there  is  a  bad  judge,  a  bad  genius,  a  bad  philosopher, 
a  bad  friend.  Where,  then,  is  wisdom  to  be  found  ?  Can  you 
find  wisdom  by  digging  for  it  with  spade  and  mattock  ?  Did 
mere  genius  ever  find  true  wisdom  ?  Did  simple  intellectuality 
ever  come  back  saying — I  have  found  all  that  is  meant  by  under- 
standing? Never.  How,  then,  is  wisdom  found?  By  the 
heart.     How,  then,  does  faith  come  ?     By  the  heart.     How,  then, 


Jobxxviii.]  WHAT  IS   WISDOM?  281 

do  men  learn  to  know  themselves?  By  studying  the  heart. 
The  heart  has  its  own  genius,  the  heart  has  its  own  implements 
of  digging.  Digging  there  must  be  and  searching,  yea,  a  searching 
such  as  no  miner  ever  employed  in  searching  for  gold  and  silver  ; 
but  the  whole  inquest  is  made  by  the  heart.  *'  With  the  heart 
man  believeth  unto  righteousness."  "  Son,  give  me  thine  heart." 
A  man  cannot  work  with  his  hands.  A  hireling  may  do  some 
duty  with  his  hands,  and  receive  adequate  pay  for  it,  but  unless 
the  hands  are  ruled  and  directed  by  the  heart,  they  do  nothing 
really  well.  Blessed  is  he  who  has  his  understanding,  and  his 
physical  faculties,  and  his  social  position,  and  all  his  personal 
resources  under  the  sovereignty  of  a  soft,  tender,  pure,  loving 
heart  I 


NOTE. 

There  is  one  book  in  the  Old  Testament  collection  that  is  commonly 

acknowledged  as  being  of  uni-ivalled  sublimity ;  this  is  the  Book  of  Job, 
which  treats  of  the  very  highest  moral  problems  that  can  exercise  the  mind 
of  man.  ...  It  is  virtually  the  one  problem  of  life  which  meets  us  at  every 
turn ;  which  out  of  the  pale  of  revelation  is  enveloped  in  impenetrable 
obscurity;  and  which,  even  with  the  light  shed  upon  it  by  the  promises  of 
the  Gospel,  is  by  no  means  devoid  of  profound  mystery,  namelv,  the  unequal 
distribution  of  suffering  in  the  world,  and  the  blindness  with  which  the 
righteous  rather  than  the  wicked  appear  to  be  selected  as  its  victims.  This 
verily  was  a  theme  well  worthy  of  the  noblest  composition  of  the  noblest 
literature  in  the  world  to  deal  with.  No  literature  could  lay  claim  to  being 
really  sacred  or  divine,  to  have  truly  come  from  God,  that  did  not  deal 
with  it. 

The  poetry  of  the  Book  of  Job,  however,  has  suffered  more  than  any 
poetry  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the  deficiencies  of  the  translation,  .  .  .  and 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  rendering  which  is  oftentimes  so  inadequate,  how 
many  there  are  who  have  been  enabled  to  discover  in  the  book  of  Job  the 
very  noblest  of  poems;  and,  as  it  is,  it  is  not  possible  to  disguise  the  sublime 
beauty  of  such  a  passage  as  the  twenty-eighth  chapter  and  others.  And, 
after  all,  it  is  the  argument  rather  than  the  poetry  that  has  suffered  in  the 
authorised  translation.  The  grandeur  of  the  plot  is  sufficiently  manifest. 
The  spectacle  of  a  man  of  consistent  and  exceptional  righteousness  being 
subjected  to  altogether  exceptional  suffering,  to  the  despair  of  his  wife,  and 
the  dismay  of  his  nearest  friends — of  his  nevertheless  holding  fast  his 
integrity  through  the  strength  of  his  faith  in  the  righteousness  of  the 
unseen,  till  at  last  he  is  vindicated  by  the  voice  of  God  uttered  through 
nature  out  of  the  whirlwind  and  the  storm,  showing  him  that  if  the 
principles  of  the  moral  government  of  the  world  are  dark,  those  of  its 
physical  government  are  by  no  means  clear,  and  till  the  tide  of  his  prosperity 
returns  in  yet  greater  fulness  than  before,  and  he  dies  in  extreme  old  age, 
full  of  riches  and  honour, — is  one  of  the  greatest  interest,  and  fraught  with 
lessons  of  the  profoundest  wisdom. — The  Structure  of  the  Old  Testament. 
By  Professor  Stanley  Leathes,  M.A. 


Chapter  xxix. 
SUN2TY  MEZIORIES. 

THIS  chapter  is  a  kind  of  spiritual  inventory.  Job  begins 
to  enumerate  the  blessings  which  he  once  had,  and  as 
he  sets  them  down  in  order  they  seem  to  muhiply  and  brighten 
in  the  process.  We  all  know  what  that  means.  Blessings  seem 
to  brighten  as  they  take  their  flight.  We  did  not  know  how 
precious  they  were  at  the  time;  we  were  partially  contented 
with  them ;  probably  they  were  all  we  needed  just  at  that 
particular  moment,  but  we  had  no  special  or  exuberant  joy 
in  their  possession ;  after  they  all  vanished  we  began  to  think 
how  truly  good  they  were,  and  precious  even  to  invaluableness. 
We  do  so  with  our  friends  now.  Verily  we  praise  the  dead 
more  than  the  living  in  more  senses  than  one.  Men  whom 
we  treat  but  unkindly  or  thoughtlessly  now  we  shall  one  day 
speak  of  as  wonderful  men,  men  who  deserved  all  confidence 
and  honour  and  love :  how  much  better  rightly  to  esteem  the 
blessing  which  is  in  hand  which  constitutes  the  immediate  joy 
of  life,  than  to  neglect  that  blessing  and  only  revere  and  value 
and  regret  it  long  months  after  it  has  gone  I  He  that  hath 
ears  to  hear  let  him  hear.  Let  us  have  no  more  vain  lamenta 
tions,  for  they  may  but  express  a  form  of  hypocrisy,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  just  possible  that  were  the  blessings  to  return  we  should 
set  as  little  store  by  them  the  second  time  as  we  did  the  first. 
Let  us  avail  ourselves  of  the  present  moment,  and  be  kind  to 
every  one,  and  value  and  appreciate  every  one  highly  and 
justly  and  generously ;  thus  shall  we  do  good  to  ourselves, 
so  marvellously  are  things  constituted  that  we  cannot  allow 
ourselves  to  go  out  in  blessing  others  without  preparing  our- 
selves for  a  redoubled  blessing  in  our  own  hearts.  He  that 
watereth  others  shall  be  watered  himself.  With  what  judgment 
ye  judge  ye  shall  be  judged.     Your  appreciation  is  not  wasted  ; 


Jobxxix.]  SUNNY  MEMORIES.  283 

it  enlarges  the  heart  that  encourages  it ;  it  purifies  the  lips  that 
express  it;  it  returns  to  its  source,  a  blessing  for  the  man 
who  sent  it  forth.  Job  is  not  speaking  of  romantic  losses. 
When  he  sets  down  in  his  catalogue  loss  after  loss  we  begin 
to  feel  that  the  loss  was  real  and  disastrous.  He  has  lost  what 
to-day  we  call  religion.  He  has  lost  the  consciousness  he  used 
to  have  of  the  divine  presence  and  nearness  and  love ;  he  has 
lost  the  light;  in  place  of  the  great  sun  he  seems  to  have  a 
greater  cloud  ;  he  does  not  know  where  the  altar  is,  or  if  he 
could  find  the  rude  pile  no  flame  would  burn  upon  it,  and  there 
would  be  nothing  round  about  it  to  certify  the  divine  recognition 
and  benediction. 

The  first  loss  of  Job  is  an  infinite  religious  loss — 

"  Oh  that  I  were  as  in  months  past,  as  in  the  days  when  God  preserved 
me;  when  his  candle  shined  upon  my  head,  and  when  by  his  light  I 
walked  through  darkness;  as  I  was  in  the  days  of  my  youth,  when  the 
secret  of  God  was  upon  my  tabernacle ;  when  the  Almighty  was  yet  with 
me  "  (vv.  2-5). 

The  patriarch  did  not  feel  that  the  loss  of  religion  was  the 
gain  of  liberty ;  he  does  not  testify  that  in  proportion  as  he 
got  away  from  religious  centres  and  religious  obligations  he 
got  into  freedom  and  light  and  enjoyment.  Let  this  man's 
experience  go  for  something.  There  is  a  common  sophism  that 
if  we  could  only  get  rid  of  religion  we  should  all  be  free  and 
happy,  unbeclouded  by  a  fear,  undeterred  by  a  single  menace. 
Granted  that  that  may  be  our  opinion,  yet  we  must  set  side 
by  side  with  it  the  testimony  of  men  who  have  lost  religious 
consciousness  and  gone  away  into  more  or  less  of  melancholy, 
depression,  gloom,  and  religious  solitude.  Who  would  not 
have  expected  Job  to  say.  Now  I  have  entered  upon  the  real 
meaning  of  life :  up  to  this  time  I  have  been  superstitious, 
spending  my  reverence  where  veneration  was  not  valued,  throw- 
ing my  best  faculties  away ;  but  now,  having  abandoned  the 
book  and  the  altar  and  the  religious  vow  and  the  whole  spiritual 
life,  why,  I  am  a  man  ?  Job  bears  no  such  testimony.  Rather 
he  says — I  want  the  old  days  back  again  ;  they  rose  in  bright- 
ness, they  increased  in  glory,  and  when  they  went  down  at 
sunset  the  death  was  as  precious  as  the  birth,  for  it  held  within 


^^ 


284  ^^^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxix. 

it  all  the  hope  of  a  new  morning:  once  I  could  pray,  and 
heaven  seemed  to  meet  me  half-way  when  I  said  I  will  sup- 
plicate the  throne  that  is  unseen ;  my  mouth  was  full  of  song 
and  sacred  laughter,  and  my  heart  pulsed  like  music,  and  all 
things  bore  testimony  to  the  benediction  of  God.  Is  it  so  with 
us  ?  It  will  be  one  day  if  we  live  a  neglectful  life  and  so  forfeit 
our  religious  privileges.  Now  and  again  it  does  seem  that  if  we 
could  destroy  the  Bible,  obliterate  the  Sabbath,  forget  the  Cross, 
escape  the  Church,  we  should  spend  the  remainder  of  our  lives  in 
green  pastures,  in  drinking  wine  that  would  exhilarate  us,  and 
in  dwelling  under  fruitful  trees,  the  very  produce  of  which  would 
drop  into  our  open  mouths  and  melt  there  and  nourish  us,  with- 
out trouble  or  effort.  But  men  come  to  a  better  mind ;  they  long 
even  for  the  old  familiar  tunes  ;  they  desire  but  one  vision  of  the 
ancient  times  when  they  assembled  with  the  people  of  God 
in  the  sanctuary,  and  kept  holy-day  with  the  great  multitude, 
and  were  interested  in  all  holy  services  and  sacrifices.  What 
would  the  flowers  say,  if  they  could  speak,  did  the  sun  not 
come  back  punctually  to  them  with  his  blessing?  Hanging 
their  heads  on  the  second  day  they  would  say — Oh  that  it 
were  with  us  as  it  used  to  be  but  a  few  hours  since  I  We  are 
cold,  we  are  heart-struck,  we  are  without  joy:  Oh  that  the 
sun  would  come  back  again  and  bless  us,  and  we  would  answer 
his  hght  with  all  our  love !  What  would  the  picture  say  in 
the  Royal  Academy  if  the  sun  did  not  go  before  any  other 
visitor  went?  Suppose  he  should  tarry — a  day,  a  week — and 
leave  them  there  on  their  decorated  walls  ?  Could  they  speak, 
what  would  they  say  ?  Surely  they  would  say.  We  are  nothing 
without  the  light;  we  cannot  be  seen,  we  cannot  show  our- 
selves, we  are  not  self-illuminating :  oh  that  it  were  with  us 
as  it  used  to  be !  Then  we  could  see  one  another ;  we  could 
look  across  the  hall,  and  salute  one  another  in  all  the  enthusiasm 
of  mutual  appreciation  :  we  were  modestly  proud  of  our  colour  : 
but  what  are  we  without  the  sun?  Nothing.  W^e  are  not 
pictures;  we  might  as  well  be  empty  canvas;  it  might  as  well 
be  with  us  as  if  the  hand  of  genius  had  never  touched  us ;  we 
seem  now  to  see  what  the  sun  really  is ;  the  sun  is  more  than 
mere  hght ;  light  is  the  artist,  light  is  the  revealer,  light  is  the 
great    medium,    the    holy    messenger :  oh    that    it    were   with 


Jdbxxix.]  SUNNY  MEMORIES.  285 

us  as  when  the  sun  filled  these  rich  halls  and  made  every 
wall  eloquent  with  colour  and  suggestion ! — so  it  is  with  the 
soul.  Man  cries  out  for  the  living  God.  For  a  time  he  is 
joyous  enough  without  him  in  a  superficial  way;  presently  we 
shall  hear  a  voice  saying,  "  As  the  heart  panteth  after  the  water 
brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God."  We  were 
made  for  God.  It  was  meant  that  we  should  love  him,  and 
live  in  him,  and  be  his  sons  and  daughters  evermore.  Under 
any  other  thought  we  are  not  ourselves  :  we  are  wild  men,  we 
are  decentralised,  we  are  cut  off  from  the  mountain  spring,  we 
shall  soon  be  dried  up  and  withered ;  let  us  cry  mightily  for  the 
days  that  have  gone. 

A  wonderful  thing  Job  says,  almost  incredible  indeed  to 
modern  readers.  We  find  this  singular  expression  in  the  fourth 
verse,  "As  I  was  in  the  days  of  my  youth."  Who  can  utter  that 
prayer  ?  Tell  us  where  youth  has  not  been  misspent.  Point 
out  a  man  who  has  found  in  his  youth  all  that  was  pure,  lovely, 
and  beautiful,  and  given  his  heart  to  it,  and  has  not  grown  away 
from  that  youthhood  which  was  nearly  heaven.  Other  men  have 
said  they  have  been  made  to  reap  the  sins  of  their  youth :  Job 
desires  to  be  in  his  older  age  as  he  was  in  his  early  days.  A 
sweet  memory  that  1  We  are  not  now  speaking  of  childhood — 
innocent,  prattling,  trustful,  musical,  happy,  all-holiday  childhood, 
but  of  a  more  advanced  youth.  Are  there  not  some  men  who 
would  evermore  forget  their  youth  if  they  could  ?  It  is  a  blot, 
a  wound,  a  shame,  a  blasphemy.  Let  others  take  heed,  and 
live  their  youth  well,  so  that  when  old  age  comes  it  may  return 
in  sweet  and  tender  memory  to  make  old  age  green,  vernal, 
flowery. 

When  Job  lost  religious  consciousness  he  lost  something  that 
was  vital,  he  lost  companionship.  He  says,  "  The  days  when  the 
Almighty  was  with  me."  He  complains  of  loss  of  light,  loss 
of  communion,  loss  of  the  divine  "  secret " — **  when  the  secret 
of  God  was  upon  my  tabernacle,"— when  God  hung  the  key  upon 
my  tabernacle  wall,  the  key  of  all  things, — that  mysterious, 
marvellous,  beneficent  secret  which  is  with  them  that  fear  the 
Lord !  call  it  by  what  name  you  please ;  sympathy  will  do,  so 


286  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxix. 

will  insight,  prevision, — that  prophetic  power  that  sees  over  the 
intervening  hills  of  time  away  into  fruitful  plains  and  gardens 
far  beyond,  yea,  into  millenniums.  Now  the  secret  has  gone, 
and  Job  becomes  a  common  man,  who  could  but  talk  upon  the 
topics  of  the  day ;  he  who  was  wont  in  his  own  degree  to  handle 
eternity  is  left  with  the  bone  and  crust  of  time ;  he  who  once 
spake  noble  words,  poems,  prophecies,  whose  rhetoric  was 
wisdom,  whose  eloquence  was  a  revelation,  now  chatters  the 
commonplaces  of  common  men.  To  part  with  God's  own  secret 
is  to  part  with  all  that  makes  life  powerful,  real,  beneficent.  Job 
had  lost  his  companion ;  he  had  no  spirit  that  understood  him 
to  talk  to  any  more :  when  he  spoke  it  was  to  unsympathising 
listeners,  when  he  poured  out  his  complaint  he  was  pouring  the 
river  of  his  sorrow  into  the  empty  air.  There  was  none  that 
understood  him ;  there  was  none  that  could  do  him  good.  Take 
care  how  you  lose  God.  Let  us  beware  how  we  part  with  our 
i  ather — the  Father  of  our  spirits.  That  loss  cannot  be  expressed 
in  words :  it  is  the  loss  of  self,  the  loss  of  heaven. 

Job  does  not  lower  his  key  much  when  he  bemoans  the  second 
loss  in  the  cry,  "  When  my  children  were  about  me."  He  had 
not  been  used  to  live  alone.  The  children  were  so  many  that 
he  became  one  of  them ;  their  dispositions  were  so  varied  that 
he  became  self-multiplied;  he  had  to  listen  to  so  many  tones, 
pleas,  supplications,  definitions,  arguments,  that  he  himself  was 
enlarged  by  the  very  process  of  listening  and  replying.  No  man 
liveth  unto  himself.  No  man  is  really  happy  who  is  left  to  his 
own  individuality.  He  must  have  another  self,  somewhere,  in 
some  form ;  it  may  be  a  self  in  childhood,  in  work,  in  service, 
in  thought,  but  there  must  be  another  self  in  which  every  man 
must  live,  if  he  would  live  his  full  life,  and  enjoy  all  the  advantage 
God  intended  him  to  reap  from  being.  "When  my  children 
were  about  me : "  they  seemed  to  divide  the  very  burden  which 
they  created :  if  I  had  difficulty  with  them,  I  had  more  enjoy- 
ment: when  they  were  very  little  they  gave  me  pleasure 
enough  for  a  lifetime ;  even  if  they  proved  in  after  life  what  I 
did  not  want  them  to  be,  yet  when  I  think  of  their  early  existence 
and  their  early  gifts  of  joy  to  me,  I  feel  as  if  I  had  at  the 
beginning  my  share  of  heaven:  would,  said  job,  we  could  all 


Jobxxix.]  SUNNY  MEMORIES,  2B7 

be  at  home  again — the  grand  old  home  I  We  perhaps  have  no 
palace  such  as  Job  had,  but  every  man's  home  is  a  palace,  if 
it  be  watched  by  love,  if  it  be  filled  with  prayer.  Value  home. 
Count  the  children  one  by  one.  When  was  there  one  too  many 
even  for  the  poorest  man's  one  loaf?  When  did  not  the  loaf 
multiply  when  cut  by  the  hand  of  love  ?  It  will  be  worse  than 
useless  to  lament  and  regret  and  pine  and  whine  over  things  that 
are  gone  if  we  do  not  now  make  home  the  gladdest  place  on 
earth.  To  find  a  man's  character  inquire  about  him  at  home. 
Do  not  ask  what  he  is  in  the  market-place,  or  on  the  platform, 
on  in  the  church,  or  what  he  is  when  he  has  his  professional 
robe  upon  him,  or  when  he  goes  forth  for  the  purpose  of  cutting 
and  being  a  figure  in  society.  Read  his  character  on  the  hearth- 
stone; inquire  what  he  is  amongst  his  nearest  ones;  then 
advance  to  his  dependents,  and  see  what  view  they  take  of 
him ;  and  if  a  man  can  stand  that  test,  he  need  not  care  much 
what  critics  say,  who  never  spent  an  hour  with  him,  and  who 
know  nothing  about  the  innermost  qualities  of  his  loving  heart. 
Make  home  precious  now.  Make  it  so  precious  that  it  can  never 
fade  out  of  the  memory.  And  do  not  imagine  that  home  can 
only  be  made  precious  by  great  deeds,  by  romantic  actions,  by 
great,  splendid,  dramatic  efforts  to  make  one  day  in  the  year 
a  very  red-letter  day.  Home  is  made  precious  by  little  acts, 
thoughtful  deeds,  quiet  attentions,  patient  endurances ;  by  smile, 
and  grip  of  hand,  and  word  of  cheer,  by  a  thousand  little  things 
that  go  without  name  but  all  minister  to  the  upbuilding  and 
comforting  of  family  life. 

Then  Job  tells  us  what  he  was  socially,  and  wants  to  be  the 
great  man  he  once  was  amongst  his  fellow  citizens.  He  used  to 
be  the  principal  man  of  his  time.  His  steps  were  washed  with 
butter ;  and  the  rock  poured  him  out  rivers  of  oil. 

"The  young  men  saw  me,  and  hid  themselves:  and  the  aged  arose,  and 
stood  up.  The  princes  retrained  talking,  and  laid  their  hand  on  their  mouth. 
The  nobles  held  their  peace,  and  their  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  their 
mouth  "  (w.  8-10). 

He  was  a  great  man  then.  Now  everybody  sees  that  providence 
is  against  him.  It  is  precisely  the  same  in  modern  days.  Given, 
a  man  rich,  prosperous,  influential,  quite  a  noble  figure  in  the 


288  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxix. 

social  sphere,  and  it  is  easy  to  think  that  he  is  a  favourite  of 
heaven.  Let  him  come  to  ill-health  and  poverty  and  abandonment 
of  a  social  kind,  and  there  will  not  be  wanting  those  far-sighted 
owls  who  think  that  they  see  that  God  has  turned  from  the  man  in 
anger  because  of  the  man's  wickedness.  But  Job  was  not  only  a 
great  man  socially ;  he  was  a  great  man  amongst  the  poor  as  well 
as  amongst  the  princes — 

"When  the  ear  heard  me,  then  it  blessed  me;  and  when  the  eye  saw  me, 
it  gave  witness  to  me :  because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the 
fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him.  The  blessing  of  him  that 
was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  me:  and  I  caused  the  widow's  heart  to 
sing  for  joy.  ...  I  was  eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  was  I  to  the  lame.  I 
was  a  father  to  the  poor :  and  the  cause  which  I  knew  not  I  searched  out. 
And  I  brake  the  jaws  of  the  wicked,  and  plucked  the  spoil  out  of  his  teeth" 
(vv.  11-17). 

We  may  pardon  a  man  some  egotism  who  had  done  this  all.  He 
might  remind  himself  of  how  the  princes  stood  and  bowed  down 
to  him,  when  he  remembered  that  he  was  the  friend  of  the  poor, 
and  that  whenever  he  met  oppression  on  the  high  road  he  rent  it 
in  twain,  and  left  the  two  sundered  pieces  to  come  together  again 
if  they  could.  Now  what  Job  says  he  was  personally,  religion,  as 
represented  by  Christ,  ought  to  be  influentially.  We  cannot 
indeed  be  all  these  in  the  letter,  for  every  man  is  not  a  Job  in 
mental  capacity  or  in  material  possessions ;  but  the  Church  can  be 
what  Job  was  in  its  unity.  The  Church  must  play  the  Job  of  this 
twenty-ninth  chapter  of  his  book.  Religion  should  be  the  greatest 
figure  in  society  :  it  should  be  the  great  voice  in  council ;  it 
should  represent  what  we  find  Job  was  in  the  twenty-fifth  verse — 
"I  .  .  .  dwelt  as  a  king  in  the  army,  as  one  that  comforteth 
the  mourners."  The  Church  that  is  not  all  this  is  not  Christ's 
Church,  or  if  it  be  Christ's  Church  it  is  ungrown,  undeveloped, 
unaware  of  its  privileges  and  responsibilities.  Do  not  let  us  lose 
the  golden  thought  of  the  occasion  by  imagining  that  there  was 
but  one  Job,  and  that  when  he  died  all  the  actualities  and  possi- 
bilities of  this  chapter  died  along  with  him.  What  the  one  man 
was  the  one  Church  may  be.  Imagine  a  Church  that  can  say, 
"  When  the  ear  heard  me,  then  it  blessed  me ;  and  when  the  eye 
saw  me,  it  gave  witness  to  me :  because  " — not,  because  I  made 
great  theologies,  but — "  because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried, 
and  the  fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him."     What 


Jobxxix.]  SUNNY  MEMORIES. 

will  come  upon  the  Church  by  way  of  crown  and  honour  and 
robe  of  primacy  and  monarchy  ? — *'  The  blessing  of  him  that 
was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  me :  and  I  caused  the  widow's 
heart  to  sing  for  joy." 

"My  glory  was  fresh  in  me,  and  my  bow  was  renewed  in  my  hand. 
Unto  me  men  gave  ear,  and  waited,  and  ^ept  silence  at  my  counsel.  After 
my  words  they  spake  not  again ;  and  my  speech  dropped  upon  them.  And 
they  waited  for  me  as  for  the  rain ;  and  they  opened  their  mouth  wide  as  for 
the  latter  rain,"  (vv.  20-23). 

There  is  a  career  for  the  Church  I  The  Church  is  to  be  a  friend 
of  the  poor  and  the  helpless  and  the  destitute;  the  Church  is 
to  be  the  terror  of  oppression;  the  Church  is  to  be  the  chief 
figure  in  all  the  social  economy.  Not  the  Church  as  a  piece 
of  mechanism  and  organisation  and  institution,  but  the  spiritual 
Church,  the  Christ-loving  Church,  the  Church  born  at  the  cross 
and  crowned  in  heaven.  Where  is  the  Church  now?  Meek 
with  modesty !  Where  is  she  ?  She  ought  to  be  at  the  front. 
She  begs  to  be  permitted  to  live  I  She  spends  her  life  in  elaborate 
apologies  I  She  is  edged  out  by  all  manner  of  rivals  and  com- 
petitors. We  wrong  the  Church  if  we  deny  her  the  first  place, 
and  she  wrongs  herself  if  she  does  not  claim  it.  Now  she  has  to 
go  behind,  when  she  ought  to  go  before ;  she  has  whispered  where 
she  ought  to  have  thundered ;  she  has  kissed  the  hand  of  the 
oppressor,  when  she  ought  to  have  smitten  his  cheekbone. 
There  is  no  Church  !  She  is  indeed  not  dead,  but  she  sleepeth. 
The  time  of  her  awakening  must  come.  Lord  Jesus,  come  and 
awake  her  out  of  sleep  !  If  she  had  not  a  public  holiday  in  the 
week  called  Sunday  she  would  die  utterly.  She  lives  on  the 
advantage  of  a  public  holiday !  The  people  have  then  nothing 
else  to  do,  or  they  weary  in  the  doing  of  it,  so  they  make  the 
Church  a  kind  of  recreation :  but  if  the  Church  had  not  this 
Sunday  she  would  be  swallowed  up  in  the  muddy  river  of  the 
common  times.  She  lives  upon  this  holiday !  She  does  not  live 
in  the  week-time ;  she  could  not  live  then :  Art,  Business, 
Pleasure  would  laugh  her  to  scorn ;  the  theatre  could  outshine 
the  sanctuary,  and  the  reciter  of  poems  would  put  the  preacher 
down.  We  cling  now  to  this  one  little  day  in  the  week,  and 
that  is  fast  going.  When  that  goes  the  Church  will  go,  and 
the  pulpit,  and  all  religious  organisation.     Lord  Jesus,  thou  still 

VOL.  XL  19 


ago  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxix. 

dost  work  miracles — oh,  work  a  miracle  in  thine  own  Church  I 
Arouse  her ;  vitalise  her ;  quicken  her.  She  ought  to  be  first  in 
music,  in  art,  in  literature,  in  science;  she  ought  to  pull  down 
her  walls,  and  extend  her  boundaries,  and  heighten  her  roof,  and 
kill  the  fatted  calf,  and  bring  forth  the  gold  ring,  and  the  best  robe, 
and  all  good  things,  and  make  her  house  a  place  of  feasting  and 
banqueting.  She  is  getting  old,  and  economical,  and  poor,  and 
toothless,  and  fearful,  and  decrepid,  and  men  are  laughing  at 
the  ancient  heroine  that  struggled  with  the  Hon  and  beat  him, 
that  lived  on  the  mountain  and  grew  strong  on  the  air  of  the 
hills,  that  found  home  in  the  fissures  of  the  rocks  and  in  the 
caves  of  the  earth.  Now  she  has  been  brought  into  the  city, 
and  she  is  giving  way  under  the  blandishments  of  civilisation,  the 
seductions  of  luxury  and  fashion.  May  she  not  be  recovered 
from  the  error  of  her  way  ?  Then  come  thyself,  O  Christ,  and 
''  dwell  as  a  King  in  the  army,  and  as  one  that  comforteth  the 
mourners  "  1 


NOTE. 
In  chapter  xxix.  (a  fine  specimen  of  flowing,  descriptive  Hebrew  poetry) 
Job  recalls  the  honour  in  which  he  used  to  be  held,  and  the  beneficent  acts 
which  he  was  enabled  to  perform.  Modesty  were  out  of  place,  for  he  is 
already  in  the  state  of  "  one  turned  adrift  among  the  dead  "  (Ps.  Ixxxviii.  5). 
In  chaps,  xxx.,  xxxi.  he  laments  with  the  same  pathetic  self-contemplation 
his  ruined  credit,  and  the  terrible  progress  of  his  disease.  Then  by  a  some- 
what abrupt  transition,  he  enters  upon  an  elaborate  profession  of  his  inno- 
cence, which  has  been  compared  to  the  solemn  repudiation  of  the  forty-two 
deadly  sins  by  the  departed  souls  of  the  good  in  the  Egyptian  "  Book  of  the 
Dead."  The  resemblance,  however,  must  not  be  pressed  too  far.  Job's 
morality,  even  if  predominantly  "legal,"  has  a  true  " evang.  lical"  tinge. 
Not  merely  the  act  of  adultery,  but  the  glance  of  lust ;  not  merely  unjust 
gain,  but  the  confidence  reposed  in  it  by  the  heart ;  not  merely  outward 
conformity  to  idol-worship,  but  the  inclination  of  the  heart  to  false  gods  are 
in  his  catalogue  of  sins.  His  last  words  are  a  reiteration  of  his  deeply 
cherished  desire  for  an  investigation  of  his  case  by  Shaddai.  With  what 
proud  self-possession  he  imagines  himself  approaching  the  Divine  Judge  1 
In  his  hands  are  the  accusations  of  his  friends  and  his  own  reply.  Holding 
them  forth,  he  exclaims, — 

Here  is  my  signature — ^let  Shaddai  answer  me— 
and  the  indictment  which  mine  adversary  has  written. 
Surely  upon  my  shoulder  will  I  carry  it, 
and  bind  it  as  chaplets  about  me. 
The  number  of  my  steps  will  1  declare  unto  him; 
as  a  prince  will  I  come  near  unto  him  (xxxi.  35-37). 
— Tht  Wisdom  0/  the  Old  Testament.    By  the  Rev.  Canon  Cheyne,  M.  A.,  D.D. 


Chapter  xxx, 
CHANGES  OP  FORTUNE. 

JOB  has  been  comparing  his  past  and  his  present  from  a 
personal  and  social  point  of  view.  Hear  his  words  in  the 
twenty-ninth  chapter, — "  The  young  men  saw  me,  and  hid 
themselves  :  and  the  aged  arose,  and  stood  up.  The  princes 
refrained  talking,  and  laid  their  hand  on  their  mouth.  The  nobles 
held  their  peace,  and  their  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  their 
mouth  "  (vv.  8-10).  That  was  the  past  condition  of  affairs  in 
Job's  social  circle.  He  was  chief,  king,  dominant  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances.  Job  was  the  towering  and  overshadow- 
ing figure  wherever  he  went.  He  remembered  all  that  perhaps 
too  vividly.  Compare  what  you  find  in  the  thirtieth  chapter — 
"But  now  they  that  are  younger  than  I  have  me  in  derision, 
whose  fathers  I  would  have  disdained  to  have  set  with  the  dogs 
of  my  flock  "  (xxx.  i).     That  is  the  present  report. 

y^rily  Job  is  a  man  who  has  seen  the  extremes  of  life.  One 
of  two  things  must  be  the  result  of  this  double  experience :  either 
he  will  be  soured,  and  come  out  of  the  whole  process  with  a  bitter 
nature,  an  unkind,  unresponsive  heart,  he  will  shake  off  the  very 
kind  of  people  to  whom  he  once  responded  benevolently  and 
liberally ;  or  this  other  thing  will  happen  :  he  will  be  a  richer 
man,  riper,  larger ;  he  will  understand  human  speech  more  per- 
fectly, see  into  the  condition  of  human  life  more  vividly ;  if  he  shall 
survive  this  storm,  he  will  be  a  man  worth  talking  to :  a  new 
tone  will  come  into  his  voice,  mellow,  rich,  tender, — a  tone  with 
history  in  it,  charged  with  the  music  of  sympathy.  Here  we 
ought  to  learn  a  lesson.  How  many  of  us  come  out  of  our  suffer- 
ings embittered,  soured,  resentful  I  We  say  we  will  bide  our  time, 
and  then  draw  the  bow  and  let  the  arrow  fly  where  it  may  :  we 
are  going  to  be  even  with  men ;  we  are  going  to  take  thunder 

^^^^ 


^TISIVBR-ITY, 


292  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxx. 

bolts  into  our  own  hand,  and  sit  down  upon  the  throne  of 
judgment.  Then  is  affliction  lost  upon  us.  God  himself — let  us 
say  it  with  reverence — has  sown  seed  upon  the  wind  or  in  stony 
places,  and  nothing  has  come  of  it ;  or  the  tares  sown  by  the 
enemy  put  out  the  wheat  sown  in  the  providence  of  God,  and  at 
the  last  nothing  is  seen  in  all  the  field  hut  poisonous  weeds.  We 
may  be  the  better  for  our  losses ;  we  may  be  the  tenderer  for  our 
afflictions ;  we  may  come  out  of  the  furnace  saying,  We  went  in 
the  larger  part  of  us  dross,  but  by  God's  grace  and  wisdom  and 
loving  discipline  we  have  come  up  out  of  the  furnace  all  gold, 
meet  for  the  master's  use :  ''  He  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take : 
when  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold."  Here  we 
have  an  opportunity  of  working  miracles ;  here  the  dumb  man 
can  speak  eloquently  for  God  :  gift  of  argument  he  may  have 
none ;  his  speech  may  be  marked  by  the  utmost  poverty  of 
expression ;  he  may  fail  for  want  of  words ;  but  his  character 
may  be  so  eloquent,  graphic,  expressive,  that  people  will  take 
knowledge  of  him  that  he  has  been  with  the  master,  that  he  has 
come  home  from  the  sanctuary  to  tell  good  news,  and  vindicate 
by  solidity  of  life,  by  completeness  of  patience,  by  tenderness  of 
sympathy,  a  great  verbal  argument  for  God,  and  providence,  and 
redemption.  We  want  advocates  of  that  kind.  The  Church  has 
never  lacked  eloquence ;  her  trumpets  have  always  been  a 
thousand  in  number,  and  her  trumpeters  have  always  been  strong 
enough  to  use  the  instruments :  but  her  sufferers  who  have 
conquered  in  the  strife,  her  brave  hearts  that  have  carried  heavy 
burdens  mile  after  mile,  and  never  complained  impiously, — these 
must  come  to  the  front,  and  say  with  simplicity  but  great 
emphasis  and  strength,  One  thing  I  know  :  nothing  but  the  grave 
could  have  created  for  me  a  light  in  the  valley,  nothing  but  the 
almightiness  of  love  could  have  protected  me  in  the  wildness  of 
the  storm. 

Let  us  look  at  Job's  comparison  of  his  past  and  present.  He 
speaks  of  the  very  same  men,  sometimes  directly  and  definitely, 
and  always  by  implication,  and  he  says.  Circumstances  have 
developed  them :  I  did  not  know  them  in  the  day  of  my  pros- 
perity ;  I  thought  they  w^ere  all  good  and  true,  and  right  valiant, 
but  now  what  hounds  they  are  I     What  base   menl     I  should 


Job XXX.]  CHANGES  OF  FORTUNE.  293 

never  have  known  these  men   but  for_mjj^__afi^^  So  it  is 

alT  through  society.  We  never  know  ourselves  but  by  our 
affli>|-fnn5'  how,  then,  can  we  know  other  people  except  by  the 
same  severe  infallible  test  ?  Let  a  man  succeed  :  *'  Men  will 
praise  thee  when  thou  doest  well  to  thyself;"  they  will  say,  He 
must  be  good  or  great,  ingenious,  inventive,  have  wonderful 
forcefulness  and  energy  of  character ;  there  is  more  in  him  than 
we  at  first  supposed  or  suspected  :  verily  he  is  a  chosen  child  of 
God,  and  will  go  forward  to  enthronement  and  coronation.  Vain 
babblers  1  They  read  nothing  but  the  vulgarist  print  of  circum- 
stances and  events;  they  have  not  thatkeen  inward  vision  that 
lyadt;  rharart,gr^  purpose^  moral  quality.  Let  the  same  man  fail, 
then  what  will  the  same  people  say  ?  That  they  always  prog- 
nosticated the  failure ;  what  else  could  be  expected  ?  Anybody 
whose  eyes  were  open  could  see  how  things  would  eventuate, — 
and  thus  they  assume  prophetic  dignity,  as  if  they  had  known  it 
all  the  time. 

Circumstances  develop  men,  reveal  character,  and  show  us  the 
real  quality  of  things  all  round.  It  is  thus  with  religion  itself. 
Any  religion  that  is  sustained  by  flattery  or  custom  will  come 
down,  no  matter  how  elaborate  the  creed,  or  how  profound  the 
claim  to  immediate  attention.  Any  religion  or  religious  institu- 
tion living  by  patronage,  fashion,  custom,  the  spirit  of  the  hour, 
will  come  down  to  ruin  and  to  shame.  So  will  any  orthodoxy 
that  lives  upon  majorities.  We  cannot  tell  righteousness  by 
numbers.  Were  the  test  numerical,  at  how  many  points  in 
human  history  would  righteousness  have  gone  down  and  virtue 
have  been  sent  a-begging  !  Let  us  remember,  then,  that  there  is 
an  inner  quality  of  things,  and  that  not  until  we  have  pierced  to 
that  innermost  quality,  do  we  know  any  man,  faith,  church, 
family,  or  institution.  ^fi-umsLsiiQUQt  our  friends  in  the  storm  ; 
we  shall  know  what  they  are  worth  when  we  need  them.  What 
do  you  know  about  the  man  you  praise  so  much  ?  Let  us  hear 
all  you  know.  Do  you  answer.  He  is  so  pleasant,  so  agreeable, 
so  friendly,  so  social,  so  condescending ;  there  are  no  airs  about 
him  or  sign  of  superior  claims  ?  Have  you  ever  been  in  real 
distress  and  invoked  his  aid?  Have  you  ever  attempted,  honour- 
ably, to  borrow  money  of  him  ?     Have  you  ever  sent  for  him 


i94  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxx 

when  all  the  winds  of  heaven  had  seized  the  tower  of  your  life 
and  shaken  it  ?  Have  you  ever  been  in  a  position  to  say  to  him 
— I  am  no  longer  popular,  or  esteemed  by  my  fellow-men :  you 
now  find  me  solitary  and  wobegone,  and  if  you  can  put  your 
hand  in  mine  and  let  me  feel  a  friend's  strong  grip  I  shall  be 
glad  ?  If  in  that  hour  he  answered  bravely,  with  an  affirmative 
generosity,  with  a  self-surrendering  liberality,  then  grapple  him 
to  thyself  with  hooks  of  steel :  he  is  a  child  of  truth  and  of  God. 
Men  are  tested  by  opposition.  The  man  you  find  so  agreeable 
has  a  piety  exactly  skin-deep.  Refuse  him  his  requests,  oppose 
him  in  his  notions,  separate  yourself  from  him  in  his  most  ardent 
thinking,  forget  to  answer  his  letter,  and  the  revelation  will 
surprise  you.  If  otherwise,  then  esteem  him  highly ;  write  him 
down  in  the  record  you  prize  most,  and  which  you  will  read  in 
your  latter  days  as  a  kind  of  second  Bible,  chronicling  things  that 
were  good  amongst  men  and  helpful  along  all  the  school-road  of 
life.  The  preacher  must  count  his  congregation  on  wet  days.  It 
is  nothing  to  gather  a  crowd  when  the  crowd  can  go  nowhere 
else.  It  is  a  pitiable  thing  to  take  Sunday  statistics  of  church- 
going.  We  must  go  to  church  or  not  go  anywhere.  Nothing 
else  is  open  on  Sundays.  Count  your  flock  mid-week ;  count 
them  when  the  attractions  round  about  are  many  and  strenuous. 
Poor  creature  I  and  yet  so  kind  he  is  and  fond  of  setting  down 
on  private  papers  whole  catalogues  of  friends.  He  says.  They 
will  support  me  when  I  am  old ;  they  will  remember  me  when 
I  was  in  my  prime,  when  they  waited  for  me  and  welcomed 
me  with  the  fervour  of  enthusiastic  love.  Do  not  spoil  his 
monologue:  it  is. a  generous  self-deception.  Love  him  when  he 
is  old  ?  Need  we  reply  to  the  suggestion  ?  Remember  him  when 
he  was  young,  radiant,  tuneful,  strong,  leaping  into  the  breach, 
leading  the  host  ?  What  is  forgotten  so  soon  and  so  completely 
as  the  preacher's  influence  and  benediction  ?  Here,  again,  we 
must  put  the  other  side,  for  blessed  be  God  there  is  another  side. 
There  are  people  who  grow  old  along  with  the  preacher,  and 
they  remember  all  the  yesterdays,  and  to  the  last  are  as  faithful 
as  at  the  first ;  yea,  if  they  cannot  be  more  faithful  they  are  more 
tender,  and  tenderness  added  to  faithfulness  makes  a  great  virtue. 

Job   now  began   to   know   his   friends  and   what  they  were 


Job  XXX.]  CHANGES  OF  FORTUNE. 

worth.  But  let  us  be  just  in  our  judgment,  and  being  so  we 
cannot  acquit  Job  altogether.  He  who  takes  notice  of  praise  will 
miss  it.  We  thought  Job  was  taking  no  notice  of  anybody  who 
had  for  him  adulation,  obeisance,  and  every  expression  of  almost 
servility ;  we  thought  his  chin  was  so  high  in  the  air  that  he 
did  not  see  who  rose,  who  bowed  down,  who  passed  by :  it  turns 
out  now  that  he  saw  all  the  trick.  What  if  we,  too,  see  some- 
thing of  the  whole  game  of  Hfe,  and  yet  apparently  in  a  kind 
of  religious  haughtiness  walk  about  as  though  we  saw  nothing 
of  it  ?  He  who  notices  praise,  we  repeat,  will  miss  it ;  he  will 
say,  The  papers  are  not  so  cordial,  the  applause  was  not  so 
enthusiastic.  What !  then  you  read  the  columns  of  adulation 
and  listened  to  the  boisterous  roar  of  welcome  which  you  always 
expected  in  the  crowded  house  ?  We  thought  you  so  absorbed 
in  your  work  that  you  did  not  hear  a  single  note  or  blast  of 
it,  and  now  you  sit  and  whimper  as  though  you  had  valued 
it  supremely.  He  who  lives  upon  approval  will  wither  under 
neglect.  What,  then,  are  we  to  do  ?  We  are  to  serve  the 
Lord  with  faithfulness ;  we  are  not  to  be  men-pleasers ;  we  are 
not  to  work  as  with  eye-service,  calculating  upon  reward  and 
applause  and  abiding  human  friendship!  Who  is  sutticient  lor 
these  things  ?  None.  Nevertheless  we  must  hold  up  the  ideal. 
We  must  pray  great  prayers  even  whilst  we  are  living  unworthy 
lives.  The  prayer  is  the  life  we  would  live;  the  actual  ex- 
perience is  the  life  we  are  able  now  to  live.  We  ought  not 
to  care  for  human  applause,  otherwise  we  shall  be  setting  our 
course  accordingly.  We  shall  say,  Will  this  please?  Will 
this  be  accounted  orthodox  ?  Will  this  suffice  the  congregation? 
Will  this  propitiate  the  critics?  There  is  but  one  critic,  and 
that  is  God.  Could  we  live  in  his  sight,  and  for  his  glory,  and 
in  all  the  inspiration  of  his  love,  whilst  not  defying  men  we 
should  be  independent  of  them,  and  whilst  most  pleasing  God 
we  should  in  the  long  run  most  satisfy  all  the  men  who  are 
worth  satisfying.  Poor  Job,  then,  was  but  human  at  the  best. 
He  reveals  his  own  quality  in  thus  deploring  his  own  change 
of  social  fortune  and  social  esteem.  With  all  due  respect  for 
Job,  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  did  not  conceal  his  sufiferings. 
A  wonderful  gift  of  rhetoric  was  bestowed  upon  him.  He  may 
have   been   a  very  silent  man  in   the  days  of  his  prosperity. 


296  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  fjobxxx. 

but  affliction  made  him  right  eloquent  in  words  of  woe,  in 
threnodies  solemn  and  awful;  he  became  the  poet  of  grief, 
the  very  seer  and  sage  of  the  school  of  sorrow,  so  that  we  all 
go  to  Job  when  we  want  to  utter  complaint  or  sadness  or  write 
some  epitaph  on  departed  worth  and  loveliness.  All  that  grief 
ever  needs  in  the  way  of  language  can  be  found  in  the  book 
of  Job.  Out  of  that  book  the  biggest  cemetery  on  earth  could  be 
filled  with  epitaphs,  with  suitable  monumental  inscriptions  and 
passages.     He  did  not,  then,  hide  his  woe;  he  uttered  it. 

He  brought  charges  against  God ;  he  says  that  God  had 
forsaken  him — 

"  I  cry  unto  thee,  and  thou  dost  not  hear  me :  I  stand  up,  and  thou 
regardest  me  not.     Thou  art  become  cruel  to  me  "  (w.  20,  21). 

This  is  true,  and  not  true.  When  Job  said  that  God  answered 
not  his  cry.  Job  spoke  the  truth ;  when  he  inferred  that  God 
would  not  answer  his  cry  or  could  not,  he  did  injustice  to  God. 
It  may  be  perfectly  true  that  God  has  not  answered  a  single 
prayer  that  we  have  ever  offered  to  him,  and  yet  what  if  the 
blame  be  in  the  prayer  and  not  in  the  hearer  ?  Who  thinks 
of  fastening  the  controversy  upon  the  prayer?  In  all  the 
argument  against  the  uses  of  prayer,  who  has  fixed  himself  with 
deadly  criticism  upon  the  prayer  ?  Who  has  not  rather  knocked 
at  the  door  of  heaven,  and  said,  It  is  fastened  on  the  inner  side, 
and  all  the  bleeding  hands  that  ever  knocked  upon  it  in  earnest 
entreaty  spent  their  strength  in  vain  ?  A  truer  voice  says,  "  Ye 
have  not  because  ye  ask  not,  or  because  ye  ask  amiss."  Let  the 
criticism  begin  at  the  right  point,  and  spend  itself  upon  the  right 
centre,  then  we  have  no  fear  of  the  issue.  Judge  the  earth  by 
winter,  and  you  will  say,  Thou  rebel  earth,  thou  sinning  clod, 
thou  guilty  star,  thy  sun  hath  forsaken  thee ;  he  would  never 
allow  this  snow  and  ice  to  lie  upon  thee  and  cover  thee  with 
this  white  pall  if  he  cared  for  thee :  thou  art  a  sinful  earth. 
Judge  the  earth  by  summer,  and  how  different  I  a  flower 
blooming  at  every  corner,  every  pore  of  the  earth  an  outlet 
of  life  and  beauty.  Which  is  the  right  standard  of  judgment  ? 
Neither.  How  then  are  we  to  judge  ?  By  taking  both  into  account. 
God  moves  in  circles;  he  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth; 
his  eternity  is  a  circle,  significant  of  completeness,  inclusiveness, 


Job  XXX.]  CHANGES  OF  FORTUNE.  297 

incapability  of  amendment.  What  then  must  we  do  with  all 
these  unanswered  prayers  to  which  Job  calls  attention  ?  Better 
blame  the  prayer  than  blame  the  Lord  to  whose  mercy-seat  it 
was  addressed.  We  have  a  thousand  unanswered  prayers.  Are 
there  not  men  who  can  bless  God  that  some  prayers  were 
never  answered  ?  Do  we  not  live  to  correct  our  own  suppli- 
cations, so  that  if  we  had  life  to  live  over  again  there  are  some 
prayers  we  would  never  repeat  ?  There  is  but  one  prayer ;  we 
find  our  way  to  that  by  many  different  roads :  but  the  real 
prayer  is  the  Lord's  prayer, — not  as  commonly  understood,  but 
that  final  prayer,  that  Gethsemane  cry — "  Not  my  will,  but  thine, 
be  done."  That  prayer  is  always  answered.  What  know  we 
as  to  the  petty  supplications  Job  may  have  addressed  to  the 
throne  of  grace?  What  if  we  turn  the  complaint  back  upon 
the  suppliant  and  say,  Thou  didst  not  pray  aright,  thy  heart  was 
wrong;  thou  wast  embittered,  ungenerous,  resentful,  narrow- 
minded  ;  thou  didst  not  see  the  whole  outspread  purpose  of  love : 
fix  thine  eyes  upon  thyself,  thou  critic  of  God,  nor  charge  the 
Almighty  foolishly.  There  have  not  been  wanting  men  of  great- 
ness and  repute  who  have  contended  that  God  cannot  be  almighty 
or  he  would  not  allow  certain  evils  to  exist.  Some  of  the 
greatest  philosophers  of  our  time  have  made  that  their  creed. 
Speaking  even  reverently  of  God,  they  have  said.  Nothing  can 
be  clearer  than  whatever  attributes  he  may  possess  he  cannot 
be  omnipotent,  or  he  would  destroy  evil,  disease,  and  every  form 
of  vice  and  mischief.  The  argument  does  not  commend  itself 
to  me  as  sound  or  good  in  any  sense.  There  is  more  than 
almightiness  in  the  providence  that  rules  us.  Who  could  worship 
sheer  power,  naked  strength  ?  who  could  live  if  there  were 
nought  but  omnipotence?  "Power  belongeth  unto  God:  also 
unto  thee,  O  Lord,  belongeth  mercy."  God  is  not  only  all-mighty, 
he  is  all-wise  ;  he  is  not  only  all-wise,  he  is  all-patient ;  not  only 
all-patient,  but  all-loving.  We  must  not  fix,  therefore,  the 
attention  upon  a  single  attribute,  and  argue  from  its  singularity  ; 
we  must  not  tear  one  attribute  of  the  Almighty  from  another, 
and  reason  about  it  in  its  separateness.  We  ought  to  resent 
with  some  measure  of  indignation  anything  like  a  vivisection  of 
God,  a  cruel  and  impious  analysis,  though  done  not  irreverently ; 
at  the  same  time  we  must  remember  that  God  is  all-might}'^. 


298  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  Qobxxx. 

all-wise,  all-loving,  according  to  the  Christian  conception  of  him. 
This  being  the  case,  he  does  not  hurl  his  almightiness  against 
his  universe,  or  universe  there  would  soon  be  none,  for  the 
heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight  and  his  angels  are  charged 
with  folly.  Along  with  almightiness — not  above  it,  but  concur- 
rently with  it,  giving  it  atmosphere,  attempering  it, — we  find 
wisdom,  love,  patience,  grace,  compassion,  and  viewing  God  thus 
in  the  completeness  of  his  personality,  we  must  give  him  time 
to  work  out  his  designs.  In  proportion  to  our  littleness  we  are 
impatient.  Ignorance  cannot  wait.  There  are  men  amortgst 
us  who  display  the  very  vice  to  which  this  argument  is  directly 
pointing ;  they  want  to  have  everything  done  in  one  little  hour, — 
because  whatever  they  do  is  done  upon  the  surface  and  done  for 
the  moment ;  it  does  not  take  in  the  whole  purview  ;  it  does  not 
balance  all  influences,  ministries,  and  issues  of  things;  their 
action  is  crude,  partial,  and  often  self-defeating.  God  moves  by 
a  long  line.  He  takes  a  long  time  in  the  development  of  his 
purpose.  He  sitteth  in  eternity,  and  with  him  a  thousand  years 
are  but  as  one  day,  one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years.  We  have 
made  a  clock,  but  he  never  looks  at  it ;  we  have  cut  up  duration 
into  moments,  but  the  trick  is  ours,  the  philosophy  of  it  is  not 
in  God.  The  All-Being  can  know  but  one  time,  and  that  is 
eternity ;  but  one  continuance,  and  that  is  infinity.  We  have 
ourselves,  in  a  largely  secondary  degree,  constructed  time,  and 
made  false  calculations  by  the  very  chronometers  we  have 
invented. 

There  are  Jobs  in  the  world ;  there  are  down-trodden  righteous 
men;  there  are  misunderstood  children  of  virtue;  there  are 
saints  who  have  apparently  incurred  the  frown  of  God ;  there 
are  unanswered  prayers ;  there  is  a  devil ;  there  is  a  bottomless 
pit :  all  these  things  would  seem  to  throw  into  doubt  the 
almightiness  of  God ;  thus  are  we  who  accept  the  revelation  of 
his  word  in  the  holy  Bible,  constrained  to  say,  Wait  for  the  end ; 
let  God  take  what  period  of  duration  he  pleases  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  purposes ;  it  is  ours,  children  of  yesterday,  to 
wait  and  believe,  to  live  in  holy,  loving  confidence.  One  thing 
is  certain,  if  Job  lived  in  social  opinions,  social  criticisms  and 
estimations;  if  Job  trusted  to  uncertain  riches;  if  Job  thought 


Job XXX.]  CHANGES  OF  FORTUNE.  299 

to  die  in  a  nest  because  it  was  large  and  warm,  he  has  taught 
us  by  his  experience  not  to  put  our  trust  in  these  things,  but 
to  look  otherwhere  for  security  and  rest.  But  where  shall  rest 
be  found  ?  Here  we  are  brought  by  all  human  history,  by  all 
personal  experience,  by  everything  we  see  of  the  dicipline  of 
life,  to  cry  great  cries  after  the  Everlasting,  the  Complete,  the 
All-Blessed  and  All-Blessing.  We  are  forced  into  our  greatest 
prayers.  We,  who  would  palter  with  words  and  manufacture 
syllables  and  make  a  plaything  of  supplication,  are  made  to  pray, 
are  scourged  into  penitential  crying,  are  compelled  to  say,  Can 
this  be  all,  this  measurable,  empty  thing, — call  it  earth  or  time, 
or  load  of  the  flesh, — can  it  be  all?  Then  verily  its  pain  is 
greater  than  itself;  death  is  greater  than  life.  In  that  mood 
there  may  come  sweet  gospels  to  us  saying,  Hope  thou  in  God, 
for  thou  shalt  yet  praise  him  :  hold  fast  to  the  skirts  of  the 
Almighty  and  the  Eternal,  for  even  yet  he  may  turn  his  kind 
face  upon  thee :  wait  in  reverent  love  and  patience,  and  thou 
shalt  see  that  this  little  time-world  is  but  a  gate  into  the  infinite 
spaces  and  the  eternal  liberties :  wait  thou  at  the  gate,  saying 
to  thyself.  It  will  soon  be  opened.  It  is  always  right  to  wait 
until  the  gate  is  opened  from  the  inside ;  it  must  not  be  forced 
violently ;  at  any  moment  it  may  open,  and  when  it  opens  we 
shall  see  the  explanation  of  every  mystery,  the  meaning  of  every 
pain  that  has  tortured  and  tried  our  groaning  life. 


Chapter  xxxi. 

1.  I  made  a  covenant  with  mine  eyes;  why  then  should  I  think  upon  a 
maii  ?     [Some  think  that  Job's  wife  was  now  dead.] 

2.  For  what  portion  of  God  is  there  [would  be]  from  above  ?  and  what 
inheritance  of  the  Almighty  from  on  high  ? 

3.  Is  not  destruction  to  the  wicked?  and  a  strange  punishment  to  the 
workers  of  iniquity? 

4.  Doth  not  he  [emphatic,  meaning  God]  see  my  ways,  and  count  all  my 
steps  ? 

5.  If  I  have  walked  with  vanity  [inward  falsehood],  or  if  my  foot  hath 
hasted  to  deceit ; 

6.  Let  me  be  weighed  in  an  even  balance  [in  a  balance  of  righteousness], 
that  God  may  know  [will  know]  mine  integrity, 

7.  If  my  step  hath  turned  out  of  the  way  [the  narrow  way  of  righteous- 
ness], and  mine  heart  walked  after  mine  eyes,  and  if  any  blot  hath  cleaved 
to  mine  hands  , 

8.  Then  let  me  sow,  and  let  another  eat ;  yea,  let  my  offspring  be  rooted 
out. 

9.  If  miner  heart  have  been  deceived  [befooled]  by  a  woman,  or  if  I  have 
laid  wait  at  my  neighbour's  door ; 

10.  Then  let  my  wife  grind  unto  another  [perform  all  menial  offices  like 
a  slave],  and  let  others  bow  down  upon  her. 

11.  For  this  is  an  heinous  crime;  yea,  it  is  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by 
the  judges. 

12.  For  it  is  a  fire  that  consumeth  to  destruction  [the  same  thought  in 
Deut.  xxxii.  22,  23],  and  would  root  out  all  mine  increase. 

13.  If  I  did  despise  [an  answer  to  chap.  xxii.  5]  the  cause  of  my  man- 
servant or  of  my  maid-servant,  when  they  contended  with  me  [so  slaves  had 
rights  which  honest  men  recognised]  ; 

14.  What  then  shall  I  do  when  God  riseth  up?  and  when  he  visiteth, 
what  shall  1  ansv^er  him  ? 

15.  Did  not  he  that  made  me  in  the  womb  make  him?  and  did  not  one 
fashion  us  in  the  womb? 

16.  If  I  have  withheld  the  poor  from  their  desire,  or  have  caused  the  eyes 
of  the  widow  to  fail ; 

17.  Or  have  eaten  my  morsel  myself  alone,  and  the  fatherless  hath  not 
eaten  thereof; 

18.  (For  from  my  youth  he  [the  fatherless]  was  brought  up  with  me,  as 
with  a  father,  and  1  have  guided  her  from  my  mother's  womb ;) 


obxxxi.]  ANN0TA2ED  TEXT,  301 


19.  If  I  have  seen  any  perish  for  want  of  clothing  [any  wanderer  without 
clothing],  or  any  poor  without  covering ; 

20.  If  his  loins  have  not  blessed  me,  and  if  he  were  not  warmed  with  the 
fleece  of  my  sheep ; 

21.  If  I  have  lifted  up  [waved]  my  hand  against  the  fatherless,  when  I  saw 
my  help  in  the  gate  [in  the  court  of  justice]  : 

22.  Then  let  mine  arm  fall  from  my  shoulder-blade,  and  mine  arm  be 
broken  from  the  bone  [the  charnel-bone], 

23.  For  destruction  from  God  was  a  terror  to  me,  and  by  reason  of  his 
highness  I  could  not  endure  [I  was  unable  to  act  thus]. 

24.  If  I  have  made  gold  my  hope  [referring  to  the  admonition  of  Eliphaz, 
chap.  xxii.  23,  24],  or  have  said  to  the  fine  gold,  Thou  art  my  con- 
fidence ; 

25.  If  I  rejoiced  because  my  wealth  was  great,  and  because  mine  hand 
had  gotten  much; 

26.  If  I  beheld  the  sun  when  it  shined,  or  the  moon  walking  in  brightness 
[Job  seems  to  have  known  only  one  kind  of  idolatry]  ; 

27.  And  my  heart  hath  been  secretly  enticed,  or  my  mouth  hath  kissed 
my  hand  : 

28.  This  also  were  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judge  [probably,  my 
judge,  meaning  God]  :  for  I  should  have  denied  the  God  that  is  above  [star- 
worship  was  a  legal  offence]. 

29.  If  I  rejoiced  at  the  destruction  of  him  that  hated  me,  or  lifted  up 
myself  when  evil  found  him  : 

30.  Neither  have  I  suffered  my  mouth  to  sin  by  wishing  a  curse  to  his 
soul. 

31.  If  the  men  of  my  tabernacle  said  not,  Oh  that  we  had  of  his  flesh  !  we 
cannot  be  satisfied. 

32.  The  stranger  did  not  lodge  in  the  street :  but  I  opened  my  doors  to 
the  traveller  [the  wayfarer.     Compare  Gen.  xix.  2,  3  ;  Judges  xix.  20,  21]. 

33.  If  I  covered  my  transgressions  as  Adam  [as  man],  by  hiding  mine 
iniquity  in  my  bosom  : 

34.  Did  I  fear  a  great  multitude,  or  did  the  contempt  of  families  terrify  me, 
that  I  kept  silence,  and  went  not  out  of  the  door  ? 

35.  Oh  that  one  would  hear  me  !  behold,  my  desire  is,  that  the  Almighty 
would  answer  me,  and  that  mine  adversary  had  written  a  book. 

36.  Surely  I  would  take  it  upon  my  shoulder,  and  bind  it  as  a  crown 
to  me. 

37.  I  would  declare  [I  would  readily  give  an  account  of  all  my  actions, 
and  meet  him  with  alacrity  and  perfect  confidence]  unto  him  the  number  of 
my  steps ;  as  a  prince  [conscious  of  inward  and  inalienable  dignity]  would 
I  go  near  unto  him. 

38.  If  my  land  cry  against  me,  or  that  the  furrows  likewise  thereof 
complain  [a  strong  impersonation  to  express  the  consequences  of  oppression 
and  wrong-doing]  ; 

39.  If  I  have  eaten  the  fruits  thereof  without  money,  or  have  caused  the 
owners  thereof  to  lose  their  life  : 

40.  Let  thistles  grow  instead  of  wheat,  and  cockle  instead  of  barley.  The 
words  of  Job  are  ended. 


Of  Ti 

rw»I7EE:i:?: 


302  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxi. 


JOB'S  RETROSPECT  AND  PROTEST. 

JOB  is  now  winding  up  his  wonderful  parable,  and  is  about 
to  retire  from  the  fray  of  words.  It  will  be  curious  to  notice 
how  the  great  sufferer  closes  his  review.  Will  it  be  as  dark 
at  the  end  as  it  was  at  the  beginning  ?  Can  mere  controversy 
ever  illuminate  the  providence  of  God,  or  must  God  himself 
always  dissolve  the  cloud  which  hides  his  love  ?  Looking  over 
the  whole  ground  which  we  have  traversed,  it  cannot  be  said 
that  the  case  has  been  imperfectly  stated  :  eloquence  was  never 
sublimer,  frankness  was  never  more  explicit,  consciousness  of 
integrity  was  never  more  stoutly  maintained.  What  then,  can 
man  do  with  any  divine  riddle ;  or  how  can  he  settle  the  tumult 
and  uproar  of  human  life  ?  Verily  man  can  do  nothing,  and  this 
is  the  lesson  he  is  meant  to  learn.  He  will  not  learn  it  by  mere 
exhortation ;  he  must  fight  his  way  to  it.  Every  man  must,  as 
it  were — though  that  is  a  hard  word  to  use — eat  of  the  forbidden 
tree  for  himself,  and  die  in  his  own  person.  To  have  begun 
with  the  exhortation, — "Man  can  know  nothing  as  it  really  is, 
and  must  wait  for  all  divine  solutions,"  would  have  been  to 
mistake  human  nature,  and  to  waste  patience  and  time.  Men 
will  not  believe.  Experience  goes  for  next  to  nothing  with  most 
of  us.  We  always  think  that  we  ourselves  could  do  better.  We 
see  a  thousand  men  fall,  and  yet  we  criticise  them  and  say.  If 
we  had  made  the  attempt  certainly  we  should  not  have  fallen. 
So  we  go  boldly  to  the  front,  and  fall  down  dead  just  as  they 
did,  and  all  the  generations  come  on  after  us — dying,  always 
dying.  History  is  thus  lost  upon  us,  as  we  have  had  occasion 
many  times  to  remark.  We  learn  nothing  by  what  happened 
in  our  neighbour's  house.  We  have  seen  what  has  come  of  ill- 
assorted  marriage  or  partnership,  or  adventurous  speculation ;  yet 
we  have  gone  and  repeated  the  very  thing,  with  our  minds  full  of 
knowledge,  and  our  hearts  warned  with  ghostly  advice.  What, 
then,  will  the  end  of  the  review  be  ?  Simply  silent  despair  or 
silent  waiting. 

Let  us  look  at  the  kind  of  life  Job  says  he  lived,  and  in  doing 
so  let  it  be  remarked  that  all  the  critics  concur  in  saying  that 
this  chapter  contains  more  jewels  of  illustration,  of  figure  or 


JobxxxiJ    JOB'S  RETROSPECT  AND  PROTEST.  36J 

metaphor,  than  probably  any  other  chapter  in  the  whole  of  the 
eloquent  book.  Job  is,  therefore,  at  his  intellectual  best.  Let 
him  tell  us  the  kind  of  life  he  lived :  whilst  he  boasts  of  it  we 
may  take  warning  by  it;  the  very  things  he  is  clearest  about 
may  perhaps  awaken  our  distrust. 

Job  had  tried  a  mechanical  life  :— 

"  I  made  a  covenant  with  mine  eyes "  (v.  l). 

The  meaning  of  "  a  mechanical  life  "  is,  a  life  of  regulation, 
penance,  dicipline;  a  life  all  marked  out  like  a  map;  a  kind 
of  tabulated  life,  every  hour  having  its  duty,  every  day  its 
peculiar  form  or  expression  of  piety.  Job  smote  himself;  he 
set  before  his  eyes  a  table  of  negations;  he  was  not  to  do  a 
hundred  things.  He  kept  himself  well  under  control:  when 
he  burned  with  fire,  he  plunged  into  the  snow ;  when  his  eyes 
wandered  for  a  moment,  he  struck  them  both,  and  blinded 
himself  in  his  pious  indignation.  He  is  claiming  reward  for  this. 
Truly  it  would  seem  as  if  some  reward  were  due.  What  can 
a  man  do  more  than  write  down  upon  plain  paper  what  he  will 
execute,  or  what  he  will  forbear  doing,  during  every  day  of  the 
week?  His  first  line  tells  what  he  will  do,  or  not  do,  at  the 
dawn ;  he  will  be  up  with  the  sun,  and  then  he  will  perform 
such  a  duty,  or  crucify  such  and  such  a  passion:  he  will  live 
a  kind  of  military  life;  he  will  be  a  very  soldier.  Is  this  the 
true  way  of  living  ?  or  is  there  a  more  excellent  way  ?  Can  we 
live  from  the  outside  ?  Can  we  live  by  chart,  and  map,  and 
schedule,  and  printed  regulation  ?  Can  the  race  be  trained  in 
its  highest  faculties  and  aspects  within  the  shadow  of  mount 
Sinai?  Or  is  the  life  to  be  regulated  from  within?  Is  it  the 
conduct  that  is  to  be  refined,  or  the  motive  that  is  to  be  sanctified 
and  inspired  ?  Is  life  a  washing  of  the  hands,  or  a  cleansing  of 
the  heart?  The  time  for  the  answer  is  not  now,  for  we  are 
dealing  with  an  historical  instance,  and  the  man  in  immediate 
question  says  that  he  tried  a  scheduled  life.  He  wrote  or  printed 
with  his  own  hand  what  he  would  do,  and  what  he  would  not 
do,  and  he  kept  to  it ;  and  though  he  kept  to  it,  some  invisible 
hand  struck  him  in  the  face,  and  lightning  never  dealt  a  deadlier 
blow. 


304  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxxi. 

Job  then  says  he  tried  to  maintain  a  good  reputation  amongst 
men, — 

"  If  I  have  walked  with  vanity,  or  if  my  foot  hath  hasted  to  deceit ;  let 
me  be  weighed  in  an  even  balance,  that  God  may  know  mine  integrity.  If 
my  step  hath  turned  out  of  the  way,  and  mine  heart  walked  after  mine  eyes, 
and  if  any  blot  hath  cleaved  to  mine  hands ;  then  let  me  sow,  and  let 
another  eat ;  yea,  let  my  offspring  be  rooted  out "  (vv.  5-8), 

That  was  a  public  challenge.  There  were  witnesses ;  let  them 
stand  forth  :  there  was  a  public  record  kept ;  let  it  be  read  aloud. 
This  man  asks  for  no  quarter ;  he  simply  says,  Read  what  I  have 
done;  let  the  enemy  himself  read  it,  for  even  the  tongue  of 
malice  cannot  pervert  the  record  of  honesty.  Will  not  this 
bring  a  sunny  providence  ?  Will  not  this  tempt  condescending 
heaven  to  be  kind  and  to  give  pubHc  coronation  to  so  faithful 
a  patron  ?  Is  there  no  peerage  for  a  man  who  has  done  all 
this?  Nay,  is  he  to  be  displaced  from  the  commonalty  and 
thrust  down  that  he  may  be  a  brother  to  dragons  and  a  companion 
to  owls  ?  All  this  has  he  done,  and  yet  he  says — "  My  skin  is 
black  upon  me,  and  my  bones  are  burned  with  heat.  My  harp 
also  is  turned  to  mourning,  and  my  organ  into  the  voice  of  them 
that  weep."  This  is  not  what  we  have  thought  of  Providence. 
W^e  have  said,  Who  lives  best  in  the  public  eye  will  be  by  the 
public  judgment  most  honourably  and  cordially  esteemed  :  the 
public  will  take  care  of  its  servants ;  the  public  will  stand  up 
for  the  man  who  has  done  all  he  could  in  its  interests;  slave, 
man  or  woman,  will  spring  to  the  master's  rescue  because  of 
remembered  kindnesses.  Is  Job  quite  sure  of  this  ?  Certainly, 
or  he  would  not  have  used  such  imprecations  as  flowed  from  his 
eloquent  lips : — If  I  have  done  thus,  and  so,  then  let  me  sow, 
and  let  another  eat ;  yea,  let  my  offspring  be  rooted  out :  let 
my  wife  grind  servilely  unto  another :  let  mine  arm  fall  from 
my  shoulder-blade,  and  mine  arm  be  broken  from  the  bone. 
So  then  Job  himself  is  speaking  earnestly.  Yet,  he  says,  though 
I  have  done  all  this,  I  am  cast  into  the  mire,  and  I  am  become 
like  dust  and  ashes  :  though  I  have  done  all  this,  God  is  cruel 
unto  me,  and  he  does  not  hear  me  :  I  stand  up,  and  he  regardeth 
me  not :  with  his  strong  hand  he  opposeth  himself  against  me : 
he  has  lifted  me  up  to  the  wind,  and  he  has  driven  me  away 
with  contempt :  he  has  not  given  me  time  to  swallow  down  my 


IVSE3IT 

Jobxxxi.]    yOB'S  RETROSPECT  AND  PR0TEST:-^^^.,r^li'^2S'^^ 

spittle:  I,  the  model  man  of  my  day,  have  been  crushed  like 
a  venomous  beast.  Job,  therefore,  does  not  modify  the  case 
against  God.  He  misses  nothing  of  the  argument  and  withholds 
nothing  of  the  tragic  fact.  He  makes  a  long,  minute,  complete, 
and  urgent  statement.  And  this  statement  is  found  in  the  Bible  ! 
Actually  found  in  a  book  which  is  meant  to  assert  eternal  provi- 
dence and  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man  I  It  is  something  that 
the  Bible  could  hold  within  its  limits  the  book  of  Job.  It  is  like 
throwing  one's  arms  around  a  furnace ;  it  is  as  if  a  man  should 
insist  upon  embracing  some  ravenous  beast  and  accounting  him 
as  a  member  of  the  household.  These  charges  against  Providence 
are  not  found  in  a  book  written  in  the  interests  of  what  is  called 
infidelity  or  unbelief;  this  impeachment  is  part  of  God's  own 
book. 

But  do  not  interrupt  Job ;  let  him  tell  us  more  of  the  tale  of 
his  life.  And  next  we  shall  find  him  claiming  to  have  lived  a 
deeply  beneficent  life.     The  proof  is  in  verses  13  to  22  : 

"  If  I  did  despise  the  cause  of  my  manservant  or  of  my  maidservant,  when 
they  contended  with  me ;  what  then  shall  I  do  when  God  riseth  up  ?  and 
when  he  visiteth,  what  shall  I  answer  him  ?  Did  not  he  that  made  me  in 
the  womb  make  him  ?  and  did  not  one  fashion  us  in  the  womb  ?  If  I  have 
withheld  the  poor  from  their  desire,  or  have  caused  the  eyes  of  the  widow  to 
fail ;  or  have  eaten  my  morsel  myself  alone,  and  the  fatherless  hath  not 
eaten  thereof;  (for  from  my  youth  he  was  brought  up  with  me,  as  with  a 
father,  and  I  have  guided  her  from  my  mother's  womb  ;)  if  I  have  seen  any 
perish  for  want  of  clothing,  or  any  poor  without  covering;  if  his  loins  have 
not  blessed  me,  and  if  he  were  not  warmed  with  the  fleece  of  my  sheep ;  if 
I  have  lifted  up  my  hand  against  the  fatherless,  when  I  saw  my  help  in  the 
gate  :  then  let  mine  arm  fall  from  my  shoulder-blade,  and  mine  arm  be 
broken  from  the  bone.** 

So  Job  had  not  lived  a  luxurious  life  at  the  expense  of  the 
public  comfort.  Job  kept  a  large  table ;  his  feast  overflowed  the 
bounds  of  his  house,  and  took  in  a  large  outside  space,  and  there 
the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the  helpless  were  welcome. 
Judged  by  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  this  testimony 
would  be  a  passport  to  heaven.  Compare  the  passage  now  before 
us  with  the  passage  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  which 
shows  the  ground  on  which  heaven  is  apportioned,  and  you 
would  say.  Job  must  go  in  first ;  no  man  could  compete  with 
him ;  rivalry  is  out  of  the  question  here ;  Job  did  everything  with 

VOL.  XL  20 


3o6  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  tJo^xxxl. 

a  princely  hand ;  there  was  not  a  mean  thought  in  all  his  intel- 
lectual range ;  how  to  do  good  and  to  do  it  to  the  most  undeserv- 
ing seems  to  have  been  his  supreme  thought :  stand  back,  and  let 
Job  go  up  to  heaven  first.  Yet  Job  says  there  was  nothing  for 
him  but  shame  and  sorrow :  he  was  abhorred ;  his  cord  was 
loosed  ;  he  was  afflicted  ;  upon  his  right  hand  youth  rose  up,  and 
pushed  away  his  feet,  and  his  path  was  marred.  This  overturns 
all  our  conceptions  of  a  beneficent  Providence.  What  spoils  this 
ointment  ?  Who  can  name  the  dead  fly  that  is  in  it  ?  Was  it 
self-consciousness  ?  Had  Job  after  all  kept  a  record  of  what  he 
had  been  doing?  Did  he  put  down  in  the  twilight  of  evening  all 
the  good  things  he  had  done  during  the  day  ?  Was  he  self-con- 
gratulatory as  well  as  self-condemnatory  ?  Did  he  in  effect  write 
every  day  at  the  foot  of  the  page  in  his  diary.  Behold,  how  good 
a  man  I  am :  when  these  words  are  read  after  my  death  all  the 
world  will  be  amazed  at  my  munificence  and  philanthropy? 
Was  this  an  investment?  Was  this  a  plume  worn  only  upon 
ornamental  occasions  ?  Did  Job  say,  I  will  have  my  horse  ready, 
and  if  any  challenge  be  made  as  to  my  reputation  you  will  find 
me  at  the  front,  well-mounl-ed,  white-plumed,  going  right  out  at 
the  head  of  the  procession,  challenging  the  loudest,  meanest,  most 
malignant  critic  to  tell  his  tale,  and  I  will  devour  him  as  he 
proceeds  in  his  vicious  accusation  ?  The  people  in  the  twenty- 
fifth  chapter  of  Matthew  were  surprised  to  hear  how  good  they 
had  been.  Not  a  word  did  they  say  about  themselves.  They 
were  told  they  had  been  beneficent,  and  they  said.  We  have  no 
recollection  of  it.  Is  it  possible  for  men  to  be  laying  up  good 
works,  hardly  knowing  that  they  are  doing  so  ?  Is  there  after  all 
a  papal  doctrine  of  supererogation  written  in  every  heart?  Is 
there  a  tem.ptation  which  says.  If  you  do  double  good  to-day  you 
may  take  fine  holidays  with  the  devil  to-morrow?  We  are  fear- 
fully and  wonderfully  made.  Do  we  ever  go  to  the  bank  of 
our  beneficence  and  draw  upon  it,  that  with  its  sacred  wealth  we 
may  feast  at  the  devil's  table  ?  We  can  but  put  these  questions 
to  ourselves,  thrust  them  into  ourselves  like  two-edged  swords. 
Do  we  buy  ourselves  off  for  the  week  by  going  to  church  on 
Sunday  ?  Do  we  make  bargains  with  Fate  ?  Do  we  whisper 
to  that  great  Force — whatever  it  be,  God  or  Fate,  Jehovah,  Jove, 
or  Lord — and  say,  Take  this,  and  allow  me  a  little  more  liberty  7 


JobxxxL]    JOB'S  RETROSPECT  AND  PROTEST,  307 

No  man  may  answer  these  questions,  because  no  man  can  reply 
to  them  without  cutting  himself  to  pieces.  Yet  it  is  well  to  put 
them  searchingly  to  the  heart,  to  strike  the  heart  dumb :  well  to 
take  the  hymn  sometimes  from  our  lip,  to  strike  it  speechless,  that 
the  mouth  may  learn  to  utter  condemnation  as  well  as  praise. 
Still,  there  is  the  mystery.  Do  not  try  to  lessen  it,  to  modify  it, 
to  evade  it.  It  stands  before  us  as  a  fact,  that  men  have  prayed, 
and  have  been  smitten  down  at  the  altar ;  men  have  done  good, 
and  have  been  left  with  an  empty  hand ;  saints  have  been  tried 
by  fire.  All  this  must  be  cleared  up,  and  no  doubt  all  this  will 
be  elucidated  ;  in  the  meantime  we  lose  nothing  by  looking  at 
the  mystery  in  all  its  proportions,  in  all  its  darkness — yea,  in 
all  its  apparent  cruelty.  Who  are  the  sick  to-day  ?  Do  we 
find  any  real  Christians  amongst  the  poor  ?  Are  there  honest 
souls  that  hardly  know  where  to  get  the  next  mouthful  of  bread  ? 
Are  there  lives,  that  appear  to  be  lived  for  others,  by  way  of 
example,  they  having  to  endure  all  the  excruciating  pain,  and  to 
be  lifted  up,  whilst  others  look,  and  wonder,  and  learn? 

Then  Job  says  he  was  not  only  living  a  mechanical  life  and  a 
beneficent  life,  and  trying  to  maintain  a  good  reputation  amongst 
men,  but  he  was  constant  in  his  religious  fidelity. 

"If  I  beheld  the  sun  when  it  shined,  or  the  moon  walking  in  brightness; 
and  my  heart  hath  been  secretly  enticed,  or  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand: 
this  also  were  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judge  "  (vv.  26-28). 

Job  knew  of  only  one  kind  of  idolatry.  He  seems  not  to  have 
been  learned  in  the  idolatrous  corruptions  of  the  time.  It  was  a 
beautiful  idolatry.  What  act  could  be  so  nearly  religious  as  to  fall 
down  before  the  sun,  and  hail  that  majesty  of  light  with  hymn, 
and  psalm,  and  praise,  sometimes  so  intense  as  to  be  mute  ?  If 
any  man  may  be  forgiven  idolatry,  surely  he  will  be  forgiven 
who  saw  in  the  sun  a  kind  of  deity.  Or,  Job  said,  If  I  have 
kissed  my  hand  to  the  moon — fair  moon,  leaf  of  purity,  banner 
of  heaven,  most  lovely  of  all  the  night-shining  ones — if  I  have 
done  this,  I  am  willing  to  be  punished  :  but  I  have  never 
played  the  Babylonian  idolater,  I  have  never  followed  sun  or 
moon,  I  have  been  constant  in  my  aspirations  after  the  living 
God ;  and  yet  the  men  who  have  beheld  the  sun,  and  nightly 
kissed    their  hands  to  the   moon,  are   rich  and  fat  and  strong, 


3o8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxxi. 

and  I  am  a  heap  of  corruption.  Surely  God  has  not  been 
careful  to  maintain  his  supremacy  by  patronage  of  those  who 
have  believed  in  him  !  He  has  not  supported  his  throne  by 
always  crowning  those  who  acknowledged  it  and  received  their 
laws  from  it ;  that  is  to  say,  judging  between  given  points  of 
time,  they  in  some  cases  seem  to  have  been  the  despised  and 
rejected  of  men.  Yet — let  us  repeat,  for  there  is  something  of 
the  nature  of  an  argument  in  the  admission — all  this  is  found  in 
the  Book  of  God  !  What  a  clearing-up  there  will  be!  When  the 
sun  does  come  he  will  shine  in  his  strength.  Meanwhile,  the 
night  is  seven-fold  in  darkness ;  no  candle  of  men's  lighting  can 
have  any  effect  upon  this  gloom  :  surely  some  new  sun  must  be 
created  to  dissolve  this  night  and  restore  the  dawn.  But  believing 
as  we  do  in  God,  we  have  confidence  in  the  end.  "  Hope  thou 
in  God ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him,  who  is  the  health  of  my  coun- 
tenance, and  my  God."  But  who  can  tell  how  the  light  will 
come  ?  Will  a  sun  be  sent,  or  will  God  come  himself?  Are 
there  occasions  in  history  in  which  preacher,  minister,  priest, 
officer,  annotator,  must  all  stand  back,  whilst  God  takes  the  case 
into  his  own  hands,  and  speaks  audibly  to  those  who  have  been 
long  waiting  for  the  revelation  of  his  law  ? 

Job,  however,  reserves  the  severest  point  to  the  last ;  he  calls 
God  *'  his  adversary."  We  never  thought  that  he  could  have  done 
that.  He  began  by  saying,  "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath 
taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord  " ;  but  now  he 
calls  God  his  foe,  his  enemy,  and  he  says,  "  My  desire  is  that  the 
Almighty  would  answer  me,  and  that  mine  adversary  had  written 
a  book."  How  often  is  this  text  misapplied  !  How  often  is  it 
made  almost  to  point  a  jest  ?  What  does  the  suffering  patriarch 
want  ?  He  wants  the  case  written  down  that  he  might  have  it 
examined  in  some  court  of  justice.  He  is  dealing  with  anony- 
mous charges.  He  says  in  effect.  Would  that  God  would  state  in 
plain  terms  what  he  has  against  me,  for  I  do  not  know  what  he 
can  have  against  his  servant :  I  have  never  wandered  from  hirn, 
I  have  never  worshipped  sun,  or  moon ;  I  have  been  kaid  to  the 
poor,  gracious  to  the  friendless,  my  house  has  been  an  open  house 
to  every  traveller  who  cared  to  come  that  way  ana  take  its 
bread;  I  have  attended  to  my  morals,  I  have  been  scrupulu.\s 


Jobxxxi.]    JOB'S  RETROSPECT  AND  PROTEST,  309 

about  my  conduct ;  I  have  written  a  law  for  my  eyes,  my  hands, 
my  feet :  oh  that  mine  adversary,  accuser,  judge,  punisher,  would 
write  a  book,  would  put  down  upon  a  scroll  in  plain  letters  that 
I  could  read  what  it  is  that  has  come  between  him  and  me  I  Yes, 
there  we  all  sometimes  stand.  We  cannot  tell  what  it  is  that  we 
have  done.  We  go  over  our  prayers  and  say,  They  were  at  least 
well  meant  if  not  well  expressed.  We  review  our  Church  rela- 
tions, and  say,  We  have  been  faithful  to  our  bonds  and  obligations 
and  promises ;  we  have  loved  the  house  of  God,  and  longed  for 
the  opening  of  its  gates :  and  now,  behold  what  a  black  procession 
comes  into  the  house — loss,  pain,  poverty,  affliction  many-coloured 
and  many-shaped,  and  death :  were  the  charge  written  in  black 
ink  upon  white  paper  we  could  see  it,  and  measure  it,  and  answer 
it ;  but  it  is  the  air  that  accuses  us,  it  is  the  darkening  heaven 
that  fills  us  with  dismay ;  it  is  an  anonymous  contempt  under 
which  our  soul  withers.  So  we  will  not  diminish  the  mystery 
one  whit ;  we  will  read  it  as  an  infidel  might  read  it  in  all  the 
letters  which  are  before  us  by  way  of  historical  statement.  We 
will  not  speak  it  as  if  it  were  some  light  thing,  frivolous  in  its 
suggestions  and  easily  borne  as  to  its  penalties.  We  will  read  it 
as  an  unbeliever  might  read  it :  we  will  read  it  with  a  vicious 
accent ;  we  will  exhaust  our  ingenuity  of  emphasis,  in  order  to 
make  out  this  mystery  in  all  its  bulk  and  blackness.  Better  it  be 
so.  The  answer  is  not  in  diminishing  the  mystery,  but  in  bring- 
ing to  bear  upon  it  such  light  as  will  banish  it,  drive  it  away  like 
a  shadow  that  seems  to  be  afraid. 

••  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform; 
He  plants  His  footsteps  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm.** 

Every  age  has  seen  this.  Faith  has  had  no  easy  time  of  it. 
There  have  always  been  innumerable  stones  lying  at  hand  which 
men  could  throw  at  faith.  Here  the  mystery  rests.  Wait  awhile. 
Perhaps  the  patriarch  may  yet  sing,  and  rejoice,  and  bless  God 
loudly  in  the  hearing  of  all  people. 


Chapter  xxxi.  40. 

*The  words  of  Job  are  ended." 

ENDED  WORDS. 

WHAT  have  they  come  to  ?  What  can  words  come  to  at 
any  time  ?  What  lies  within  the  scope  of  the  most 
eloquent  controversy  ?  Yet  the  Almighty  permits  us  now  and 
again  to  talk  ourselves  right  out.  By  no  other  method  can  he 
teach  us  so  clearly  and  effectually  how  little  we  can  do  for 
ourselves  when  we  come  face  to  face  with  the  great  and  solemn 
mysteries  of  life.  Observe,  we  can  speak ;  we  have  that  some- 
times unhappy  and  fatal  gift.  Notice  also  how  providence 
arranges  for  us  opportunities  of  telling  all  we  know,  speaking  all 
we  think,  and  arguing  about  all  the  facts  which  lie  within  our 
cognisance.  The  question  is,  What  does  it  amount  to  ?  The 
great  wind  of  controversy  has  passed ;  what  is  left  behind?  The 
facts  are  very  much  where  the  speakers  found  them. 

Observe  the  limit  of  words;  and  see  how  difficult  it  is  for 
us  to  accept  that  limit  as  indicating  a  providential  design  and  a 
method  of  instruction.  How  eloquently  the  comforters  began 
after  their  seven  days*  silence  !  They  opened  well.  Truly  they 
were  gifted  speakers.  There  was  no  want  of  language.  Now 
the  whole  speech  has  been  made — many-coloured,  many-toned — 
what  does  it  come  to  ?  How  soon  we  reach  the  point  of  agnos- 
ticism I  Yet  agnosticism  is  paraded  before  us  as  quite  a  new 
invention,  something  perfectly  novel,  and  not  without  a  certain 
degree  of  bewitchment  to  certain  peculiarly  constituted  minds. 
We  do  not  come  upon  that  point  in  theology  only.  We  soon 
come  upon  it  in  materialism.  "We  see  nothing  as  it  really  is 
There  is  a  point  of  agnosticism  in  the  plainest  piece  of  wood 
we  ever  had  in  hand.  The  philosophers  themselves  acknow- 
ledge this.     They  do  not  claim  to  be  agnostics  only  in  theology, 


Jobxxxi.4o.]  ENDED   WORDS.  3" 

or  in  spiritual  thinking,  or  in  metaphysics  of  any  name  or  degree : 
they  say  plainly,  We  are  also  agnostics  in  matter:  we  do  not 
know  everything  in  the  wood  we  handle  and  in  the  stone  we 
tread  upon.  Surely  this  is  not  the  very  last  idea  in  Christian  or 
general  civilisation.  This  supposedly  novel  idea  runs  through 
the  Bible  from  end  to  end.  We  see  a  notable  illustration  of  its 
action  in  this  controversy  as  between  Job  and  his  three  friends. 
We  cannot  call  them  ineloquent  men,  and  say.  Had  your  gift  of 
words  been  greater,  your  discoveries  would  have  been  larger  and 
brighter.  We  have  been  amazed  at  the  copiousness  and  dignity 
of  their  eloquence;  yet  when  such  speakers  have  ended,  what 
has  all  the  conference  amounted  to  ? 

Notice  the  despair  of  words  as  well  as  their  limit.  All  has 
come  to  nothing.  Yet  how  many  weapons  have  been  used,  and 
used  with  masterly  skill !  They  were  not  inexperienced  con- 
troversialists;  they  represented  the  highest  debating  power  of 
their  age.  We  might  name  some  of  the  weapons  in  order  to 
assure  ourselves  that  nothing  was  wanting  in  the  armoury  :  there 
was  eloquence,  abundant;  self-accusation,  tipped  with  criticism, — 
an  accusation  that  spared  no  feeling,  that  could  not  be  turned 
aside  by  any  pity  or  clemency  or  regard  for  human  sensitiveness ; 
a  style  of  impeachment  that  struck  right  home.  The  men  were 
not  afraid  to  tell  Job  what  an  evil  life  he  must  have  lived,  and 
on  Job's  part  there  was  abundant  self-defence.  All  the  weakness 
he  suffered  in  his  body  did  not  prevent  him,  so  to  say,  standing 
mentally  erect  and  returning  blow  for  blow  every  charge  that  was 
made  against  him.  He  held  to  his  integrity.  He  was  skilled, 
too,  in  recrimination.  He  did  not  allow  the  tu  quoque  argument 
to  remain  unused.  He  was  as  skilled  a  fencer  as  any  of  his 
friends.  And  now  the  whole  fi  y  is  over  what  does  it  amount 
to  ?  This  point  may  be  worth  insisting  upon  as  showing  how 
little  can  be  done  by  words,  even  in  argument,  in  persuasion,  in 
the  counter-action  of  sophistical  reasoning,  and  in  the  education 
of  prejudiced  minds.  Have  we  not  had  sufficient  argument  in 
the  Church  ?  Is  it  not  now  time  we  took  to  some  other  course — 
mayhap  of  action,  or  dignified  suffering,  to  the  cultivation  of 
fraternal  sentiments,  to  the  expression  of  religious  solicitudes  ? 
Is  it  not  time  to  cease  the  argument  and  begin  the  mighty  prayer? 


313  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.         .  [Jobxxxi.40. 


What  has  ever  been  settled  by  words  ?  The  settlement  has  been 
momentary,  has  been  expediential,  has  been  of  the  nature  of 
compromise  too  often.  Whoever  had  exactly  the  same  meaning 
attached  to  the  same  word,  when  it  came  to  argument  as  between 
two  men  or  two  typical  sets  of  mind  ?  Silence  is  sometimes 
more  eloquent  than  speech,  and  prayer  is  often  mightier  than 
controversy.  It  must  always  be  allowed  that  there  must  be 
individuality  of  speech  ;  that  every  man  is,  so  to  speak,  his  own 
interpreter  of  his  own  words ;  that  we  do  not  understand  the 
speech  until  we  understand  the  speakers ;  that  we  know  nothing 
of  the  words  until  we  know  the  very  soul  of  the  man  who  uttered 
them.  Here,  then,  must  be  liberty,  so  long  as  it  does  not  infringe 
the  rights  of  integrity,  absolute  consecration  to  the  very  spirit 
and  genius  of  truth.  How  pleasant  is  this  silence !  Now  we  can 
look  back  and  review,  and  estimate,  and  infer,  and  conclude  about 
things,  with  all  the  evidence  before  us. 

See  what  it  is  to  endure  unexplained  misery.  Job  was  doing 
this.  He  was  unaware  of  the  concert  or  compact  which  had  been 
entered  into  at  the  beginning  of  the  book  which  records  his 
experience.  So  long  as  we  can  trace  causes  we  find  in  that  very 
tracing  some  elements  of  comfort.  When  we  can  explain  how 
it  is  that  we  have  come  to  pain,  loss,  sorrow,  we  fall  back  upon 
the  explanation,  and  turn  it  into  a  species  of  solace:  but  th-? 
unexplained  miseries  of  life  make  us  tremble  as  with  a  double 
distress, — first  the  actual  pain  of  bodily  or  mental  sufiering,  and, 
secondly,  the  mysteriousness  which  is  ever  coming  round  about 
us,  descending  upon  us,  and  touching  our  imagination  as  with 
the  sting  of  fire.  When  not  one  sound  can  be  heard  in  the  still 
night,  and  yet  in  the  morning  the  tower  of  life  is  found  rent, 
yea,  thrown  down  in  one  shapeless  ruin,  the  very  silence  of  the 
process  adds  to  the  pain  of  the  result.  Could  we  have  felt  the 
shock  of  an  earthquake,  could  we  have  seen  the  flying  thunder- 
bolt, could  we  have  heard  the  mighty  tearing  tempest,  we  should 
liave  said.  The  downfall  of  the  tower  is  no  mystery :  verily  it 
can  be  accounted  for  precisely  and  completely :  what  could 
survive  the  storm  which  raged  in  the  night-time  ?  But  all  was 
quiet :  the  night  was  never  more  silent :  not  a  voice  could  be 
heard,  not  the   faintest  breeze  seemed  to  be  stirring;  and  yet 


Jobxxxi.40.]    ,  ENDED   WORDS,  313 

the  tower  has  fallen  down.  Are  there  not  men  who  are  enduring 
unexplained  miseries?  We  should  have  said,  looking  upon  them 
from  the  outside,  They  do  not  deserve  all  this  discipline :  surely 
some  great  mistake  is  at  the  root  and  bottom  of  all  this  difficulty ; 
the  men  are  sober,  honest,  upright,  God-fearing;  they  sanctify 
every  morning  with  prayer,  and  they  pass  into  their  rest  every 
night  with  a  hymn  of  praise  upon  their  lips  ;  and  yet  they  suffer 
like  lepers ;  they  are  impoverished,  baffled,  disappointed :  who 
can  explain  this  great  sorrow?  There  is  nothing  romantic  in 
the  history  of  Job.  In  the  mere  letter,  in  the  transient  colour  of 
the  occasion,  there  may  be  a  good  deal  that  is  special  or  unique, 
but  in  the  substantial  meaning  of  the  history  we  ourselves  can 
sympathise  with  Job :  for  who  can  tell  how  that  great  loss  was 
incurred?  Who  can  explain  the  sorrow  that  fell  upon  us  so 
swiftly  and  shut  out  all  God's  bright  sky  ?  We  have  criticised 
our  history,  examined  ourselves  clearly  and  unsparingly;  our 
scrutiny  has  been  pushed  almost  to  the  point  of  cruelty,  and  yet 
we  have  not  been  able  to  detect  an  adequate  reason  for  all  this 
sudden  gloom  and  overwhelming  judgment ;  and  if  through  the 
cloud  we  have  cried.  Oh,  that  we  could  tell  why  this  distress 
has  fallen  upon  us!  God  has  not  chided  us  for  expressing  a 
wonder  that  is  religious,  a  surprise  ennobled  by  reverence. 
See  Job,  then,  living  a  life  of  unexplained  misery.  We 
cannot  account  for  Job's  misery  by  the  general  law  of  apostacy. 
We  might  say.  All  men  have  sinned,  and  Job  is  only  enduring 
the  proper  rewards  of  sin.  That  reasoning  proves  too  much, 
and  therefore  proves  nothing.  There  is  a  point  of  speciality 
as  well  as  a  point  of  generality  in  human  experience.  If 
this  be  the  general  law  of  human  apostacy,  then  why  were 
there  comforters  as  well  as  a  comforted  man  ?  why  were  they 
not  in  the  same  state  ?  Why  not  all  moaning  because  of  a 
common  sorrow?  We  must  beware  how  we  attempt  to  meet 
specific  cases  by  merely  general  laws.  Such  an  application  of 
general  laws  divests  our  speech  of  that  sweetest  of  all  music,  the 
tone  of  sympathy, — unless  indeed  it  seal  our  lips  in  silence,  or 
reduce  us  to  the  necessity  of  saying.  We  also  endure  the  same 
pain,  for  we  are  in  the  same  condemnation. 

Sec  how  man  can  be  talked  to  by  comforters  who  do  not 


314  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxxi.40. 

understand  him.  The  three  comforters  were  well-disposed,  but 
they  were  not  on  the  same  level;  they  were  kindly  in  spirit, 
but  they  were  wanting  in  similarity  of  experience.  Only  he  can 
exhort  to  courage  who  has  himself  felt  the  need  of  such  exhorta- 
tion. Only  he  can  sympathise  who  has  suffered.  The  sufferer 
knows  when  the  really  sympathetic  voice  is  addressing  him. 
Somehow  it  is  not  in  the  words  that  the  sufferer  finds  the  truest 
comfort,  but  in  the  words  as  spok:  1  by  a  particular  tone  :  the 
words  themselves  may  be  right,  may  be  chosen  from  the  very 
volume  of  inspiration,  but  if  they  be  not  uttered  with  the  tender- 
ness of  simplicity,  with  the  ardour  of  a  fellow-feeling,  with  all 
the  music  of  remembered  pain,  they  will  fail  of  their  happiest 
effect.  Here  is  the  power  of  the  pulpit.  The  man  who  preaches 
must  be  the  man  who  has  suffered  :  then  he  will  preach  well, — 
not,  perhaps,  according  to  some  canon  of  preaching  as  laid  down 
by  mechanicians  and  formalists,  but  well  in  the  sense  of  touching 
the  inner  line  of  experience,  now  and  again  coming  down  with 
gracious  power  upon  special  suffering,  unique  necessity ;  and  the 
common  people  will  hear  the  preacher  gladly,  because  he  knows 
how  broken  is  the  human  heart,  how  self-helpless  is  the  general 
spiritual  condition  of  man.  Now  there  have  been  comforters 
who  have  sought  to  address  the  distressed.  We  know  their 
modern  names.  We  do  not  resent  their  approach,  but  we  know 
in  a  moment  that  they  do  not  understand  us.  They  do  not  speak 
our  language.  If  they  speak  the  words  of  our  mother  tongue, 
they  speak  them  with  a  foreign  accent.  But  these  very  words 
they  often  decline  to  use.  Has  not  Science  come  to  speak  with 
some  measure  of  comforting  to  the  world  ?  Let  us  hear  what  it 
has  to  say.  What  is  the  disqualification  of  science  for  speaking 
to  the  common  experience  of  the  human  heart?  It  is  wise,  it 
is  learned,  it  abounds  in  information ;  yet  when  it  attempts  to 
comfort  the  world  it  fails.  Why?  Because  science  has  never 
had  a  broken  heart.  What,  then,  can  it  do  to  broken  hearts? 
It  speaks  loftily,  it  sets  its  mouth  against  the  heavens ;  it  hardly 
ever  speaks  but  in  ponderous  polysyllables  :  but  science  never 
cried,  science  was  never  blinded  with  tears,  science  has  not  lived 
the  life  of  sorrow,  and  therefore  taken  up  the  language  of  sorrow. 
Herein  the  Son  of  God  stands  without  rival  or  equal  or  approach; 
when  we  hear  him  we  wonder  at  the  gracious  words  which 


Jobxxxi.40.]  ENDED    WORDS.  315 

proceed  out  of  his  mouth  ;  we  say,  What  wisdom,  what  tenderness, 
what  pathos,  what  knowledge  of  the  human  heart !  oh  !  never 
man  spake  Hke  this  man ;  continue  thy  heahng  speech,  oh  thou 
Saviour  of  the  world  !  Then  Political  Economy  has  come  to 
rectify  us  and  to  comfort  us :  but  political  economy  never  buried 
a  child,  political  economy  never  dug  a  grave.  Let  it  deal  with 
averages,  with  supply  and  demand,  and  with  comings,  and  goings 
of  produce ;  let  it  elaborate  all  its  calculations,  and  we  shall  be 
thankful  for  what  measure  of  help  it  can  render  to  the  living  of 
this  multitudinous  life :  but  when  it  comes  to  darkness,  sorrow, 
bereavement,  heart-ache,  how  dumb  the  thing  is !  It  cannot 
speak  to  such  agony!  See  it  gathering  up  all  its  papers  and 
calculations,  and  hastening  away  affrighted  because  of  the  heart- 
break that  came  for  one  moment  into  the  darkened  human  face. 
And  Philosophy  has  come  to  adjust  our  relations,  and  to  account 
for  our  condition,  and  to  supply  a  high  basis  of  reasoning :  but 
philosophy  never  had  a  guilty  conscience.  Philosophy  also  talks 
well.  Indeed  all  these  comforters  are  gifted  speakers.  But  how 
well  they  look  !  Not  one  of  them  ever  had  a  head-ache  that 
sprang  from  real  pain  of  heart ;  when  they  have  been  weary  it 
has  been  with  high  intellectual  pursuit,  and  they  will  soon  recruit 
their  energy  and  renew  their  youth.  With  what  dignity  they 
walk  I  They  have  never  been  bowed  down  with  burden-carrying 
of  the  kind  which  the  heart  knows  but  two  well.  Eliphaz,  and 
Bildad,  and  Zophar, — and  Science,  and  Political  Economy  and 
Philosophy,  if  you  so  please  to  change  their  names — are  gifted ; 
yea,  they  are  not  without  genius  itself;  they  are  noble-minded, 
they  are  welcomed  and  honoured  within  proper  limits :  but  they 
do  not  know  what  a  guilty  conscience  is — that  fire  within  which 
will  not  allow  the  life  one  moment's  rest.  So  then,  in  asking  for 
comfort  we  must  always  insist  upon  a  similar  experience  as  the 
necessity  of  fundamental,  complete,  and  permanent  sympathy. 
Where  do  we  find  this  similar  experience?  Nowhere  so  fully  as 
in  the  New  Testament  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ : 
there  it  grows  like  a  flower  in  its  native  soil;  there  all  men 
may  listen  to  profit  and  edification.  We  are  well  aware  that 
there  are  times  when  this  sympathy  is  not  needed ;  when  men 
are  young,  radiant,  hopeful,  successful ;  when  wherever  they 
walk  flowers  spring  up  in  their  footprints:  what  do  they  want 


3i6  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxxi.40. 


with  sympathy  ?  They  want  high  converse,  intellectual  dignity, 
philosophic  speculation.  That  is  right.  The  pulpit  has  nothing 
to  say  in  condemnation  of  one  set  of  circumstances  being  met  by 
a  similar  set  of  circumstances  :  nay,  that  is  the  very  point  of  our 
immediate  argument^  that  similarity  is  essential  to  true  fellow- 
ship. Now  comes  the  Job  period  :  the  wind  has  struck  down 
the  house,  all  the  sons  are  dead,  all  the  cattle  taken  away;  the 
flesh  smitten  with  sore  diseases,  the  very  breath  turned  into  a 
vapour  of  corruption,  the  whole  life  become  a  burden,  a  pestilence, 
a  living  pain  :  now  who  can  speak?  Given  a  world  in  which 
there  is  no  experience,  and  you  have  given  a  world  in  which 
you  need  no  New  Testament ;  but  dealing  with  facts  as  they  are, 
and  as  we  know  them  to  be,  and  as  we  represent  them,  we  are 
aware  that  there  are  moments  in  human  life  when  no  man  dare 
speak  to  us  but  one  who  has  been  sent  from  God.  Here,  let  me 
repeat,  is  the  power  of  the  Church,  the  power  of  the  Bible,  the 
power  of  the  true  ministry — a  human  ministry,  rich  with  human 
sympathy,  quick  with  human  sensitiveness,  and  yet  baptised,  yea, 
saturated  with  the  very  spirit  of  the  Cross  of  Christ. 

Here  is  a  man  also  who  is  representing  in  his  own  individual 
experience  an  aspect  of  the  providence  of  God  which  could  not* 
be  otherwise  made  clear.  There  are  various  kinds  of  what  may 
be  called  vicarious  suffering.  What  if  sometimes  one  man  has 
to  suffer  in  a  way  which  can  teach  the  whole  race  what  suffering 
really  is,  and  to  what  sources  of  consolation  suffering  should 
retire?  God  may  be  using  some  men  for  the  illustration  of 
personal  integrity.  Each  sufferer  should  say.  Perhaps  God  is 
teaching  the  world  through  me  :  all  this  calamity  has  not  fallen 
upon  me  personally  because  of  inmediate  sin,  but  through  me 
God  is  revealing  his  providence  and  kingdom;  he  is  saying  in 
effect.  This  is  the  child  of  my  family  who  can  best  represent  this 
particular  aspect  of  discipline :  many  other  children  have  I,  but 
this  one  could  show  best  what  it  is  to  suffer  and  be  strong,  to 
have  no  day  but  only  night  in  the  weary,  weary  life,  and  yet  all 
the  time  to  be  able  to  show  a  faith  which  never  falters,  and  to 
rlorify  God  in  sevenfold  darkness.  Perhaps  some  of  our  suffer- 
ing may  be  used  for  this  public  purpose.  We  may  be  called  to 
preach  illustratively.      We  may  have  no  words;   we  may  be 


^Jobxxxi.4o.]  ENDED    WORDS.  317 

without  argument,  or  learning,  or  power  of  exposition,  and  yet  by 
suffering,  as  if  in  fellowship  with  Christ,  we  may  be  revealing  to 
other  men  sources  of  truth  undiscovered  and  unsuspected  by 
them.  Let  us,  then,  take  the  largest  View  of  life,  and  not  the 
smallest ;  let  us  bring  in  the  whole  to  assist  the  part ;  let  us 
bring  within  our  purview  the  great  field  of  time  in  order  to 
illustrate  the  immediate  moment. 

The  sublime  lesson  is  that  we  need  some  one  who  understands 
us  all  and  who  can  talk  to  us  all.  The  preacher,  be  he  ever  so 
able,  can  often  but  speak  to  one  class  of  mind,  but  the  Son  of  God 
can  speak  to  all  mankind,  to  men,  to  women,  to  little  children,  to 
learned  scribe,  and  rabbi,  and  pompous  Pharisee,  to  self-smiting 
publican,  and  wandering  woman,  and  wondering  little  child. 
The  Son  of  God  can  confound  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  take 
the  crafty  in  their  own  net,  and  send  them  away  crestfallen, 
wondering  that  they  have  been  in  the  presence  of  one  who  over- 
whelmed them  with  a  new  and  uncalculated  dignity.  And  little 
children  can  be  with  him,  so  that  they  want  to  come  back  again, 
and  remain  there  always,  for  never  saw  they  so  sweet  a  smile, 
never  felt  so  gentle  a  touch,  never  looked  upon  sr.ch  a  face.  We 
bear  witness  to  this.  We  have  been  in  many  moods,  but  never 
found  Jesus  Christ  unequal  to  them.  Sometimes  men  have  been 
intellectual;  they  have  felt  a  conscious  elevation  of  mental 
faculty,  so  that  really  they  began  to  think  they  could  do  some- 
thing in  pure  intellect,  and  when  they  came  to  the  Son  of  God 
they  found  that  his  sayings  were  unfathomable  and  his  sugges- 
tions were  infinite  philosophies.  They  have  said  so;  they  have 
uncovered  themselves  in  the  presence  of  the  great  Teacher,  and 
said  with  reverence,  Lord,  evermore  give  us  this  bread.  Some- 
times we  have  been  blinded  with  tears ;  we  could  not  read  our 
own  mother's  handwriting ;  we  could  see  nothing  but  threatening 
clouds :  then  the  Son  of  God  has  spoken  to  us,  and  soon  the  rain 
was  over  and  gone,  the  voice  of  the  turtle  was  heard  in  the  land, 
and  the  soul  rejoiced  with  gladness  celestial.  We  have  gone  to 
him  when  we  had  none  other  to  go  to,  and  he  has  opened  his 
heart-door  to  its  full  width,  and  made  us  welcome  to  the  heaven 
oi  hit.  peace.  We  have  tottered  to  him  from  the  churchyard, 
wheie  we  have  laid  alj  that  was  dearest  and  had  nothing  left ; 


3i8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxxi.4a 

then  in  our  weariness,  and  reeling,  and  deprivation,  and  dark- 
ness -we  have  groped  for  him,  and  found  him,  and  he  has  not  let 
us  go  until  he  has  enriched  us  with  a  new  hope,  and  made  us 
strong  with  a  new  comfort.  We  have  not  read  this,  or  you 
might  dash  the  book  out  of  our  hands ;  we  have  felt  this,  known 
this.  To  destroy  its  power  you  must  destroy  our  recollection. 
To  take  away  this  evidence  of  Christ's  deity,  sonship,  priesthood, 
you  must  first  destroy  our  consciousness.  Let  those  who  have 
profited  by  Christ  speak  for  their  Lord.  Let  those  who  have 
been  benefited  by  his  word  and  thought  and  comfort,  stand  up 
and  say  so.  The  enemy  is  bold  with  impertinence  and  defiance  : 
let  the  friends  of  Christ  be  bold  with  reverence  and  thank- 
fulness. 

NOTE. 

In  the  third  dialogue  (xxii.-xxxi.)  no  real  progress  is  made  by  Job's 
opponents.  They  will  not  give  up,  and  cannot  defend,  their  position. 
Eliphaz  (xxii.)  makes  a  last  effort,  and  raises  one  new  point  which  he  states 
with  some  ingenuity.  The  sta.ion  in  which  Job  was  formerly  placed 
presented  temptations  to  certain  -crimes  ;  the  punishments  which  he  under- 
goes are  precisely  such  as  might  be  expected  had  those  crimes  been  com- 
mitted ;  hence  he  infers  they  actually  were  committed.  The  tone  of  this 
discourse  thoroughly  harmonises  uit.i  the  character  of  Eliphaz.  He  could 
scarcely  come  to  a  different  conclusion  without  surrendering  his  fundamental 
principles,  and  he  urges  with  much  dign  ty  and  impressiveness  the  exhorta- , 
tions  and  warnings  which  in  his  opinion  were  needed.  Bildad  has  nothing 
to  add  but  a  few  solemn  words  on  the  incomprehensible  majesty  of  God  and 
the  nothingness  of  man.  Zophar,  the  most  violent  and  least  rational  of  the 
three,  is  put  to  silence,  and  r.  tires  from  the  contest. 

In  his  two  last  discourses  Job  does  not  alter  his  position,  nor,  properly 
spjaking,  adduce  any  new  argument,  but  he  states  with  incomparable  force 
and  eloquence  the  chief  points  which  he  regards  as  established  (xxvi.).  All 
creation  is  confounded  by  the  maj(  sty  and  might  of  God  ;  man  catches  but 
a  faint  echo  of  God's  woid,  and  is  baflled  in  the  attempt  to  comprehend  his 
wa3S.  He  then  (xxvii.)  desciibes  even  more  completely  than  his  opponents 
I  ad  done  the  destruction  which,  as  a  rule,  ultimately  falls  upon  the  hypo- 
crite, and  which  he  certainly  would  deserve  if  he  were  hypocritically  to 
disguise  the  truth  concerning  himself,  and  deny  his  own  integrity.  He  thus 
recognises  what  was  true  in  his  opponent's  arguments,  and  corrects  his  own 
hasty  and  unguarded  statements,  Then  follows  (xxviii.)  the  grand  descrip- 
tion of  Wisdom,  and  the  declaration  that  human  wisdom  does  not  consist  in 
( xploring  the  hidden  and  inscrutable  ways  of  God,  but  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  in  turning  away  from  evil.  The  remainder  of  this  discourse 
(xxix.-xxxi.)  contains  a  singularly  beautiful  description  of  his  former  life, 
contrasted  with  his  actual  misery,  together  with  a  full  vindica.ion  of  his 
character  from  all  the  charges  made  or  insinuated  by  his  opponents.  Thus 
ends  the  discussion,  in  which  it  is  evident  both  parties  had  partially  failed. 
Job  has  been  betrayed  into  very  hazardous  statements,  while  his  friends  had 
been  on  the  one  hand  disingenuous,  on  the  other  bigoted,  harsh,  and  pitiless. 
The  points  which  had  been  omitted,  or  imperfectly  developed,  are  now 
taken  up  by  a  new  interlocutor  (xxxii.-xxxvii.)  Elihu.  [See  note,  post^ 
p.  328.] — Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 


Chapter  zxxii. 
THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU. 


THIS  is  the  beginning  of  Elihu's  declaration.  It  is  quite  a 
new  voice.  We  have  heard  nothing  like  this  before.  So 
startling  indeed  is  the  tone  of  Elihu  that  some  have  ques- 
tioned whether  his  speech  really  forms  part  of  the  original  poem, 
or  has  been  added  by  some  later  hand.  We  deal  with  it  as  we 
find  it  here.  It  is  none  the  less  welcome  to  us  that  it  is  a  young 
voice,  fresh,  charmful,  bold,  full  of  vitality,  not  wanting  in  the 
loftier  music  that  is  moral,  solemn,  deeply  religious.  It  appears, 
too,  to  be  an  impartial  voice ;  for  Elihu  says — I  am  no  party  to 
this  controversy :  Job  has  not  said  anything  to  me  or  against  me, 
therefore,  I  come  into  the  conference  wholly  unprejudiced :  but 
I  am  bound  to  show  my  opinion  :  I  do  not  speak  spontaneously ; 
I  am  forced  to  this ;  I  cannot  allow  the  occasion  to  end, 
though  the  words  have  been  so  many  and  the  arguments  so  vain, 
without  also  showing  what  I  think  about  the  whole  matter. 
Such  a  speaker  is  welcome.  Earnest  men  always  refresh  any 
controversy  into  which  they  enter :  and  young  men  must  speak 
out  boldly,  with  characteristic  freshness  of  thought  and  word; 
they  ought  to  be  listened  to ;  religious  questions  are  of  infinite 
importance  to  them  :  sometimes  they  learn  from  their  blunders ; 
there  are  occasions  upon  which  self-correction  is  the  very  best 
tutor.  It  is  well  for  us  to  know  what  men  are  thinking.  It  is 
useless  to  be  speaking  to  thoughts  that  do  not  exist,  to  inquiries 
that  really  do  not  excite  the  solicitude  of  men.  Better  know, 
straightly  and  frankly,  what  men  are  thinking  about,  and  what 
they  want  to  be  at,  and  address  oneself  to  their  immediate  pain 
and  necessity.     Elihu  will  help  us  in  this  direction. 

"Then  was  kindled  the  wrath  of  Elihu  .  .  .  against  Job  was  his  wrath 
kindled. . . .    Also  against  his  three  friends  was  his  wrath  kindled  **  (w.  2, 3). 


3ao  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  (JobxxxiL 

Elihu  is  full  of  wrath.  This  is  right.  Wrath  ought  to  have 
some  place  in  the  controversies  of  men.  We  cannot  always  be 
frivolous,  or  even  clever  and  agile  in  the  use  of  words,  in  the 
fencing  of  arguments ;  there  must  be  some  man  amongst  us 
whose  anger  can  burn  like  an  oven,  and  who  will  draw  us  away 
from  frivolity,  and  fix  our  minds  upon  vital  points.  "  Let  not  the 
sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath  " ;  "  Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not." 
There  is  a  hply  anger.  What  can  make  men  so  wrathful  as  to 
hear .  preachers,  leaders,  teachers,  writers  giving  the  wrong 
answers  to  the  burning  questions  of  the  time  ?  We  shall  have 
more  hope  of  the  Church  when  men  become  more  wrathful 
about  the  w^ords  that  are  spoken  to  them.  The  pulpit  will 
respond  to  the  impatience  of  the  heart  when  it  will  not  follow  the 
lead  of  the  arbitrary  intellect.  Who  can  sit  still  and  hear  men's 
deepest  questions  treated  lightly  ?  Here  it  is  that  wrath  comes 
to  fulfil  its  proper  function.  It  will  not  ask  little  questions,  it  will 
not  be  content  with  superficial  replies ;  it  says  in  effect,  You  do 
not  understand  the  disease ;  you  are  crying  Peace,  peace ;  when 
there  is  no  peace,  or  you  are  daubing  the  wall  with  untempered 
mortar  :  silence  1  ye  teachers  of  vanity  and  followers  of  the  wind. 
Anything  is  better  in  the  Church  than  mere  assent,  indifference, 
neglect,  intellectual  passivity,  the  sort  of  feeling  that  has  no  feel- 
ing, mere  decency  of  exterior,  and  a  cultivation  of  patience  which 
is  only  anxious  to  reach  the  conclusion.  Let  us  have  debate, 
controversy,  exchange  of  opinion,  vital,  sympathetic  conference 
one  with  another ;  then  we  shall  know  the  true  meaning,  and  the 
real  depth  and  urgency  of  human  want,  and  be  sent  back  to  find 
solid  and  living  answers  to  the  great  cries  of  the  soul. 

How  courteously  the  young  man  dismisses  the  old  form  of 
teaching. 

"  I  am  young,  and  ye  are  very  old  ;  wherefore  I  was  afraid,  and  durst  not 
shew  you  mine  opinion.  I  said,  Days  should  speak,  and  multitude  of  years 
should  teach  wisdom  **  (w.  6,  7). 

The  old  might  be  dismissed  with  some  dignity.  A  time  does 
come  in  human  teaching  when  we  pass  from  one  set  of  teachers 
to  another ;  but  in  passing  to  the  higher  range  of  teachers  we 
need  not  be  uncivil  to  the  men  who  have  told  us  all  they 
knew,  and  who  have  brought   their  religious  knowledge  up  to 


Jobxxxii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  321 

date.  We  cannot  live  in  tomorrow;  we  cannot  now  speak 
the  language  that  will  be  spoken  in  the  Church  fifty  years 
hence :  all  we  can  do  is  to  make  one  another  welcome  to  our 
present  acquisitions,  and  our  present  information,  and  our 
present  sympathy.  We  do  not  claim  finality  for  these  things; 
we  say  in  effect,  This  is  all  we  know  to-day :  if  we  knew  more, 
we  would  speak  more ;  but  knowing  only  this,  we  have  only 
this  to  tell.  Why  sneer  at  the  old  theologians  ?  They  worked 
much  harder  than  many  work  who  are  endeavouring  to  bring 
them  into  contempt.  Why  smile  with  a  species  of  patient 
complacence  upon  the  long-laboured  theological  treatises  of  the 
men  of  the  seventeenth  century  ?  If  they  lived  now  they 
would  speak  the  language  of  the  day,  they  would  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  methods  of  the  day ;  but  they  did  all  that  in  their 
power  lay,  and  really  if  we  are  going  to  leave  them,  what  if  we 
show  some  sign  of  civility,  courtesy,  indebtedness,  thanking  the 
men  who  went  so  far  and  saying  to  them,  You  would  have  gone 
farther  if  you  could :  in  God's  name  we  bless  you,  for  you  have 
done  all  that  lay  in  your  power  ?  This  is  not  the  way  with  men. 
The  old  preacher  is  often  turned  off  uncivilly ;  he  is  said  to  be 
out  of  date,  not  to  be  abreast  with  the  times,  to  have  fallen 
astern ;  he  has  had  his  day,  and  he  must  be  content  to  sit  down. 
That  is  rough  talk  ;  that  is  uncourteous  treatment.  You  would 
hardly  treat  a  horse  so,  that  had  won  many  a  race  or  served  the 
family  many  a  year:  you  would  find  some  kind  of  suitable 
pasture  for  the  dumb  beast;  you  would  remember  how  fiery  and 
capable  he  opce  was,  and  would  not  deny  him  what  is  appro- 
priate for  his  old  age.  Let  us  be  thankful  to  our  teachers  who 
have  spoken  earnestly  all  they  knew,  and  hail  the  young  and 
new  teachers  with  enthusiasm,  only  withholding  our  confidence 
until  they  have  established  their  claim  to  it. 

Elihu  takes  solid  ground  when  he  says : 

"  There  is  a  spirit  in  man  :  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth 
them  understanding"  (v.  8). 

Inspired  instinct  is  greater  and  trustier  than  cultivated  intellect 
Let  nature  speak.  Let  all  that  is  deepest  in  you  have  full  expres- 
sion. We  so  often  talk  up  through  the  burden  of  our  information, 
acquisition,  attainment  of  any  and  every  kind.    We  are  kept  back 

VOL.    XI.  31 


S22  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxii. 


by  the  very  fact  that  we  may  possibly  be  offending  something 
that  is  written  in  the  books.  We  more  frequently  go  by  the 
book  than  by  the  soul.  By  "the  book"  we  do  not  mean  the 
Book  of  Revelation,  but  the  man-made  book ;  the  traditional 
system,  doctrine,  or  thought ;  the  scientific  form :  we  are  afraid 
lest  we  should  offend  there ;  and  so  inspired  instinct  has  not  fair 
play  in  this  great  process  of  spiritual  education.  If  our  instinct, 
being  inspired,  had  fair,  free,  ample  utterance,  it  would  put  an 
end  to  many  a  wordy  fray.  What  does  inspired  instinct  declare  ? 
Hearing  men  arguing  grammatically  about  salvation,  settling 
doctrine  upon  mere  grammatical  accuracy,  building  churches 
upon  declensions  of  substantives  or  conjugations  of  verbs,  inspired 
instinct  says.  My  Father's  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer, 
and  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of  pedants.  Inspired  instinct  says, 
with  a  warmth  that  is  itself  argumentative,  It  cannot  be  that 
God  has  fixed  the  eternal  destiny  of  men  upon  niceties  of  grammar. 
Are  then  such  niceties  to  be  despised  ?  Certainly  not.  Is  the 
letter  of  no  consequence?  The  letter  is  of  great  consequence: 
it  has  its  place,  a  large  and  most  useful  place ;  but  it  is  not  to 
that  suggestion  that  inspired  instinct  makes  reply,  it  is  to  the 
suggestion  that  unless  you  are  a  grammarian  you  cannot  be  a 
penitent,  unless  you  can  parse  a  sentence  you  cannot  receive  a 
gospel.  Elihu  was  right  in  urging  this  view  of  the  case,  and  in 
urging  it  he  did  not  for  a  moment  dispossess  the  grammarian  o 
his  proper  position  as  a  teacher  and  guide :  rather  he  would  say 
to  him,  We  are  obliged  to  you  for  what  you  have  done,  but  the 
Bible  is  within  the  Bible,  the  truth  is  within  the  words  of  its 
expression,  the  thing  signified  is  within  the  sign,  or  is  beyond 
the  sign,  and  under  all  circumstances  is  greater  than  the  sign. 
The  soul  must  answer  in  great  vital  controversies,  in  which 
eternity  is  involved.  Inspired  instinct  says  right  boldly,  as  a 
mother  might  say  it  when  her  holiest  anger  is  flaming, — God 
cannot  have  chosen  to  save  a  few  men,  and  let  the  others  go  to 
perdition.  In  vain  to  quote  to  inspired  instinct  chapters  and 
verses,  which  some  grammarians  have  settled  in  one  way  and 
other  grammarians  have  settled  in  another  way :  the  soul  puts 
them  all  aside,  and  thinks  of  God,  the  eternal,  the  loving,  the  all- 
creating  ;  the  God  who  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  hiS  only 
begotten  Son  to  save  it ;  and  when  the  soul  is  wrought  up  into 


Jobxxxii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELHIU,  323 

that  fine  mood  of  divinest  sympathy,  it  is  simply  in  vain  that  you 
tell  it  that  God  has  chosen  a  few  men  here  and  a  few  men  there 
out  of  whom  to  make  his  invisible  and  triumphant  Church,  and 
all  the  rest  are  doomed  to  eternal  fire.  Inspired  men  who  allow 
their  souls  fair  play  say,  Whatever  difficulties  there  may  be  In 
the  grammar  of  this  matter,  there  is  something  deeper  than 
etymology,  syntax,  and  prosody,  "  there  is  a  spirit  in  man,"  and 
although  that  spirit  may  not  be  eloquent  in  the  use  of  theological 
phrases,  yet  it  says  to  all  such  suggestions.  That  cannot  be :  God 
is  love:  he  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  sinner;  his 
perpetual  cry  is.  Turn  ye !  turn  ye  !  why  will  ye  die  ? — and 
inspired  instinct  continues,  I  know  there  are  hard-looking  texts, 
but  you  must  have  misunderstood  them  :  you  are  trying  to  open 
the  lock  with  the  wrong  key ;  you  are  using  violence  instead  of 
ingenuity ;  you  have  forced  your  theology  ;  you  have  not  grown 
it  like  a  plant  in  the  garden  of  God.  Inspired  instinct  cannot 
maintain  all  this  in  words ;  it  has  a  kind  of  motherly  way  of 
saying,  You  may  beat  me  in  argument,  but  you  are  wrong  in 
theory ;  your  words  are  very  ponderous  and  pompous,  but  some- 
where and  somehow  I  feel  you  are  wrong  if  you  damn  a  single 
human  creature,  and  charge  the  damnation  upon  the  sovereignty  of 
God.  So  there  is  a  place  for  the  young  voice,  the  impartial  voice, 
the  wrathful  spirit,  the  inspired  instinct :  let  us  hear  them  all, 
and  consider  well  what  they  have  to  say.  The  processes  of  an 
argument  may  themselves  be  sound,  but  the  result  may  be  a 
moral  error.  The  syllogism  may  be  absolutely  without  flaw  or 
fault;  men  may  stand  before  it  and  say,  Yes,  that  is  logic;  the 
three  members  hang  together,  and  cannot  be  dissociated.  So 
they  do ;  but  the  premises  are  wrong.  Granting  the  premises, 
the  syllogistic  form  is  right,  complete,  unanswerable :  but  the 
thing  assumed  is  a  lie,  therefore  the  conclusion  is  a  blasphemy. 
Our  assault,  therefore,  must  be  made  not  upon  a  form  but  upon 
a  false  assumption :  not  upon  something  that  cannot  be  challenged, 
but  upon  that  underlying  fallacy  which  the  soul  alone  can  detect, 
in  its  highest  movements,  in  its  sublimest  affections  and  ecstasies. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  listener,  the  so-called  layman, 
should  not  have  his  word,  when  all  the  professional  preachers, 
and   advisers,  and  comforters   have   finished  the  empty  nothing 


334  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxii. 

they  had  to  say.  We  must  have  the  truth  from  some  quarter. 
•'Behold,  I  waited  for  your  words;  I  gave  ear  to  your  reasons, 
whilst  ye  searched  out  what  to  say"  (v.  ii.) — and  now  I  can 
bear  it  no  longer.  Let  the  pew  speak  when  the  pulpit  cannot 
handle  the  occasion.  This  truth  we  must  establish,  that  some- 
body must  tell  us  really  what  God  means  in  his  communications 
with  the  human  race.  A  man  does  not  necessarily  know  what 
God  means  because  he  happens  to  stand  on  an  eminent  place  in 
the  church,  as  for  example,  a  pulpit,  or  a  platform,  or  within  the 
shadow  of  the  holy  altar.  We  must  know  what  right  he  has  to 
be  there  by  the  speech  he  makes.  What  is  it  ?  Does  it  touch 
the  reality  of  the  case  ?  Is  he  coming  into  the  holiest  places  of 
the  heart,  and  discussing  the  most  solemn  questions  of  life  ? 
Does  he  bring  with  him  burning  oil  or  healing  balm?  Does 
he  speak  in  the  tone  of  experience,  or  in  the  tone  of  mere 
adventure  and  conjecture  ?  When  it  is  ascertained  that  he  has 
not  given  the  right  answer  to  a  multitude  of  men  gathered  around 
him,  somebody  ought  to  stand  up  and  say.  The  wrong  answer 

has  been  given ;  the  right  answer  is  this .    Then  let  us  hear 

it,  consider  it,  and  form  an  estimate  of  its  value.  Who  told  the 
laymen  of  the  Church  that  they  had  no  right  to  speak  ?  Who 
imposed  silence  upon  listeners  beyond  a  given  point  ?  Where 
is  the  infallibility  of  official  speech  ?  Men  who  sit  in  pews  and 
keep  up  churches,  and  are  yet  sure  that  the  right  word  is  not 
spoken,  ought,  by  speech  or  by  writing,  by  conversation  or  by 
open  declaration,  to  tell  us  what  the  mistake  is,  and  to  express 
in  unequivocal  language  what  it  is  that  is  tearing  their  souls 
and  beclouding  all  their  prospects.  An  earnest  listener  will  make 
an  earnest  preacher,  or  the  preacher  must  sit  down  and  let  the 
earnest  listener  speak  out  of  his  soul,  however  incorrectly  as  to 
words,  and  tell  us  what  human  nature  feels,  and  needs,  and  longs 
for,  with  supreme  desire. 

A  time  is  coming  when  the  old  way  of  putting  things  must 
give  way  to  some  new  method.  But  if  the  old  are  not  always 
wise,  the  young  are  not  always  complete.  We  live  in  a  time  of 
doctrinal  change.  There  is  now  an  opportunity  for  an  Elihu 
whose  wrath  is  divinely  kindled  to  make  the  great  progress  in 
attempting  the  higher  education  of  the  soul.    Elihu  must  come ; 


Jobxxxii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  325 

when  he  does  come  he  will  be  killed  :  but  another  Elihu  must 
take  his  place,  and  go  forward  with  the  work  until  the  enemy  is 
tired  of  blood,  and  lets  the  last  Elihu  have  a  hearing.  We  may 
change  forms  without  changing  substances.  Personally  I  do  not 
know  one  grand  fact  in  the  evangelical  faith  that  needs  to  be 
changed  at  all,  unless  it  be  in  the  mere  method  of  stating  it,  I 
feel  more  and  more  that  all  the  evangelical  faith  is  right.  Many 
criticisms  are  passed  upon  it ;  many  a  rough  handling  it  has  to 
undergo ;  many  an  outwork  has  been  taken ;  many  a  sentinel 
has  been  surprised  and  shot :  but  within  it  is  pure  as  the  love 
of  God,  large  as  the  pity  of  heaven,  responsive  as  the  bosom  of 
a  mother  to  the  cry  of  a  helpless  child.  Let  us  allow  that  new 
methods  of  stating  old  truths  are  perfectly  legitimate.  Let  us 
not  condemn  a  man  who  resorts  to  novel  expressions,  if  he  does 
not  injure  the  substance  of  the  thing  which  he  intends  to  reveal. 

Take,  for  example,  the  doctrine  of  Prayer.  The  doctrine  of 
prayer  has  been  mocked,  or  misunderstood,  or  imperfectly  stated. 
Every  man  must  state  this  doctrine  for  himself.  Only  the 
individual  man  knows  what  he  means  by  prayer.  There  is  no 
generic  and  final  definition  which  can  be  shut  up  within  the  scope 
of  a  lexicon.  Who  can  define  prayer  once  for  all  ?  Only  the 
Almighty.  Every  suppliant  knows  .what  he  means  when  he 
prays  to  his  Father  in  heaven.  He  must  not  be  overloaded  with 
other  men's  definitions ;  they  will  only  burden  his  prayer ;  they 
will  only  stifle  the  music  of  his  supplication.  Each  soul  knows 
what  it  means  by  living,  earnest,  fervent  prayer.  What  mockery 
has  been  poured  upon  the  doctrine  of  praying  to  God  for  help  ! 
Suppose  we  say.  Prayer  is  good  in  cases  of  sickness,  but  it  stops 
short  at  surgery.  What  a  wonderful  thing  to  say  I  wonderful 
because  of  its  emptiness  and  vanity.  Yet  how  inclined  we  are 
to  smile  when  we  are  told  that  prayer  is  exceedingly  good  in  the 
removal  of  nervous  or  imaginary  diseases,  but  prayer  always 
stops  short  at  surgery ;  prayer  never  prayed  a  man's  limb  back 
again  to  him  when  he  had  once  lost  it.  As  well  say.  Nursing 
is  very  good,  but  it  always  stop  short  at  death.  So  it  does  ; 
so  it  must.  As  well  say,  Reaping  is  very  good,  but  reaping 
always  stops  short  at  winter.  That  is  true,  and  that  is  right. 
'*  That  which  is  lacking  cannot  be  numbered."     Law  must  have 


326  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Jobxxxil 

some  reasonableness,  or  it  ceases  to  be  law  :  when  it  loses  its 
reasonableness  it  loses  its  dignity  aijd  the  power  of  getting  hold 
upon  the  general  judgment  and  the  personal  trust  of  men. 
Even  miracles  themselves  might  be  played  with,  turned  into 
commonplaces,  debased  into  familiarities  utterly  valueless. 
Prayer  may  and  does  stop  short  at  surgery,  but  love  itself  has 
a  point  at  which  it  stops  short;  the  living  air  has  a  point  at 
which  it  falls  back,  so  to  speak,  helplessly;  all  the  ministries 
of  nature  stop  short  at  assignable  points,  saying  that  without 
assent  and  consent  and  co-operation  on  the  other  side  no  miracle 
can  be  done.  In  all  these  cases  consider  reasonableness  and 
law,  and  the  necessity  of  boundary  and  fixture  in  the  education 
and  culture  of  mankind.  Then,  Eigain,  others  would  deprive 
prayer  of  what  many  have  considered  to  be  an  essential  feature. 
In  order  to  maintain  what  doctrine  of  prayer  they  may  have, 
they  are  only  too  glad  to  eliminate  it  of  the  element  of  petition. 
They  are  not  unwilling  to  have  aspiration,  a  species  of  poetical 
communion  with  the  Invisible,  but  they  would  complete  a  great 
work  of  eradication  in  the  direction  of  request,  petition,  solicita- 
tion ;  they  would  dismiss  the  beggar  from  the  altar,  and  admit 
only  the  poetic  contemplatist,  or  the  spiritual  enthusiast,  or  the 
mystic  communicant.  For  this  we  see  no  reason.  We  hold  to  the 
old  doctrine  of  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive  :  ye  have  not  because 
ye  ask  not :  if  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God."  That 
there  may  be  abuses  in  the  direction  of  solicitation  is  obvious ; 
but  we  must  never  give  up  the  reality  because  it  can  be  abused. 
What  is  there  that  cannot  be  abused  ?  Not  art,  not  eloquence, 
not  beauty,  not  truth  itself — for  even  truth  may  be  pressed  into 
unholy  alliances,  and  may  sometimes  be  used  as  a  handle  to  force 
the  way  of  a  lie.  There  may,  indeed,  be  a  debased  use  of  asking 
or  supplication ;  it  may  be  so  used  as  to  express  nothing  but 
spiritual  selfishness — a  kind  of  miserliness  or  covetousness  of 
heart :  but  is  it  not  overlooked  that  in  relation  to  the  Infinite  and 
the  Eternal,  man's  very  position  is  one  of  dependence  and  need  ? 
If  he  never  spoke  a  word  the  very  limit  of  his  life  would  be  the 
beginning  of  his  prayer.  Men  are  not  to  ask  for  trifles  ;  they  are 
not  to  ask  that  the  laws  of  the  universe  may  be  changed  for  their 
personal  convenience :  they  are  to  remember  that  they  are  parts 
of  a  stupendous  whole,  atoms  in  an  infinitely  complex  economy ; 


Jobxxxii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  ^i^ 

and  after  having  asked  all  they  can  imagine,  they  are  to  conclude 
the  long  continued  supplication  with  the  sweet,  holy  words — 
"Nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done." 

It  is  asked.  Do  we  continually  supplicate  those  whom  we  love 
to  give  us  something  ?  I  answer,  Yes,  we  do  :  the  very  love 
is  a  prayer,  and  it  cannot  be  other.  That  this  prayer  can  be 
made  selfish,  narrow,  Httle,  unworthy,  petty,  is  obvious  enough  ; 
but  because  it  can  be  debased  it  is  not  therefore  non-existent. 
Two  men  who  love  one  another  cannot  walk  together  without 
asking  something  from  each  other  j  and  they  are  always  getting 
it :  a  glow  of  love  creates  a  reciprocal  action  as  between  man  and 
man ;  there  may  be  no  begging  for  money,  for  jewellery,  or 
trifles:  but  there  is  a  deeper  desire,  a  longing  for  communion, 
a  longing  for  trust,  a  longing  for  assurance  that  there  is  no  secret 
kept  from  the  other,  but  that  they  stand  in  a  common  brotherhood 
and  in  a  common  love.  This  is  only  partially  analogical;  no 
illustration  even  can  cover  the  whole  scope  of  the  doctrine,  but 
the  philosophy  of  it  would  seem  to  be  this  :  that  to  be  finite  is 
to  be  in  necessity ;  to  sustain  a  conscious  relation  to  the  Infinite 
is  by  that  very  relation  to  be  continually  asking  the  Infinite — 
if  not  in  terms  of  interrogation  or  demand,  yet  in  spirit — to 
complete  the  incomplete,  and  to  give  what  is  needful  to  make  life 
a  utility  and  a  joy.  Be  assured  that  asking  can  be  debased.  Let 
us  not  shrink  from  confessing  such  to  be  the  fact.  God  will  not 
be  made  use'of  in  that  way ;  the  heavens  will  not  be  turned  into 
mere  conveniences  for  the  gratification  of  our  vanity  or  the 
satisfaction  of  our  petty  necessities,  which  we  ought  to  bear  with 
fortitude,  and  confidence  in  the  good  government  of  God.  But — 
this  is  our  contention — when  all  that  is  allowed  ;  there  remains 
the  necessary  fact  that  to  live  is  to  need,  to  breathe  is  to  pray, 
to  coniinue  from  day  to  day  in  activity  is  to  continue  to  receive 
grace,  energy,  succour,  from  him  who  is  the  fountain  of  energy 
and  the  spring  of  all  solace.  Whilst,  therefore,  the  doctrine 
of  prayer  is  open  to  certain  flippant  objections  and  petty  criticisms, 
and  whilst  those  who  pray  are  open  to  mockery  because  they  ask 
for  little  things  or  self-gratifications,  all  these  faults,  many  as  they 
may  be,  and  serious  as  in  some  cases  they  are,  do  not  interfere 
with  the  fact  that  we  must  need  because  we  are  finite,  and  we 


328  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxii. 

must  ask  because  we  need.  If  a  man  once  get  into  his  head  that 
he  must  not  ask,  and  ask  minutely  and  daily  and  continuously, 
he  blocks  himself  out  from  one  of  the  holiest  enjoyments  possible 
to  religious  life.  But  when  he  has  asked  all,  he  has  to  repeat  the 
prayer  already  quoted.  I  do  not  see  why  men  should  not  often 
ask  things  that  are  apparently  little  and  trivial,  if  they  do  so 
in  the  right  spirit.  But  having  urged  all  their  requests  they  are 
to  say,  Father,  hear  my  ignorance,  listen  to  my  poor  weakness : 
I  have  told  thee  frankly  all  I  want,  thou  must  judge ;  thy  No  will 
be  as  gracious  as  thy  Yes  ;  thou  art  good,  supremely  good  ;  good 
when  thou  givest,  nor  less  when  thou  deniest :  not  my  will,  but 
thine,  be  done :  yet  I  thought,  being  a  creature  of  thine,  a  poor 
little  wanderer  in  this  great  universe,  I  would  whisper  to  thee 
all  I  want,  I  would  be  frank  with  thee,  and  say  I  want  a  fine  day, 
I  want  a  special  favour,  I  want  to  be  assisted  through  a  particular 

difficulty,   I  want — I  want. — I  want Now  I  have  emptied 

my  heart  at  thy  throne,  not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done.  Inspired 
instinct  will  confirm  that  when  criticism  and  sneering  have  done 
their  little  worst,  and  are  forgotten  in  the  angry  contempt  and 
holy  solicitude  of  mankind. 


NOTE. 

Elihu  ("God- Jehovah*^,  one  of  Job's  friends,  described  as  "the  son  of 
Barachel,  a  Buzite,  of  the  kindred  cf  Ram  "  (Job  xxxii.  2).  This  is  usually 
understood  to  imply  that  he  was  descended  from  Buz,  the  son  of  Abraham's 
brother  Nahor,  from  whose  family  the  city  called  Buz  (Jer.  xxv.  23)  also 
took  its  name.  The  Chaldee  paraphrase  asserts  Elihu  to  have  been  a  rela- 
tion of  Abraham.  Elihu's  name  does  not  appear  among  those  friends  who 
came  in  the  first  instance  to  condole  with  Job,  nor  is  his  presenfce  indicated 
till  the  debate  between  the  afflicted  man  and  his  three  friends  had  been 
brought  to  a  conclusion.  Then,  finding  there  was  no  answer  to  Job's  last 
speech,  he  comes  forward  with  considerable  modesty,  which  he  loses  as  he 
proceeds  to  remark  on  the  debate,  and  to  deliver  his  own  opinion  on  the 
points  at  issue.  It  appears  from  the  manner  in  which  Elihu  introduces 
himself,  that  he  was  by  much  the  youngest  of  the  party ;  and  it  is  evident 
that  he  had  been  present  from  the  commencement  of  the  discussion,  to 
which  he  had  paid  very  close  attention.  This  would  suggest  that  the  debate 
between  Job  and  his  friends  was  carried  on  in  the  presence  of  a  deeply 
interested  auditory,  among  which  was  this  Elihu,  who  could  not  forbear 
from  interfering  when  the  controversy  appeared  to  have  reached  an  unsatis- 
factory conclusion. — KiTTo's  Cyclopcedia  of  Biblkal  LiUraturt, 


Chapter  zzxiii. 

THE   SPEECH   OF  ELIHXT. 

II. 

THE  introduction  has  quite  excited  our  expectation.  We 
have  admired  the  young  man's  fresh  voice;  he  seems  to 
have  come  down  from  the  highlands,  and  brought  all  the  fresh 
wind  of  heaven  with  him.  He  begins  modestly  and  yet  ambi- 
tiously. The  modesty  of  Elihu  was  of  a  peculiar  quality, 
thoroughly  genuine  and  simple,  yet  round  about  it  there  is  an 
atmosphere  of  conscious  power.  He  boldly  says  that  he  will  do 
what  the  other  men  have  failed  to  do,  though  they  were  rich  in 
days,  and  complete  as  to  experience.  After  such  an  introduction 
as  Elihu  has  made,  we  can  hardly  be  content  with  less  than  a 
revelation.  A  man  should  not  be  large  in  his  introduction ;  he 
should  there  be  quite  small :  the  kingdom  of  heaven  itself  is  like 
unto  a  grain  of  mustard  seed.  What  can  Elihu  say  after  his 
exordium  ?  He  has  promised  us  thunder  and  lightning,  summer 
glory  and  beauty,  an  opening  of  secrets,  and  a  comforting  of 
disconsolate  hearts ;  he  has  come  out,  as  it  were,  from  the  very 
sanctuary  of  God,  with  an  odour  of  heaven  round  about  him : 
what  can  we  do  but  sit  down  at  this  young  teacher's  feet,  and 
hear  what  he  has  to  say? 

Not  only  are  the  three  men  men  ordered  off  with  a  great  deal 
of  well-controlled  egotism,  but  Job  himself  is  called  to  be  upon 
his  good  behaviour  : — 

"  Wherefore,  Job,  I  pray  thee,  hear  my  speeches,  and  hearken  to  all  my 
words.  Behold,  now  I  have  opened  my  mouth,  my  tongue  hath  spoken  in 
my  mouth.  My  words  shall  be  of  the  uprightness  of  my  heart :  and  my  lips 
shall  utter  knowledge  clearly.  The  Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  and  the 
breath  of  the  Almighty  hath  given  me  life.  If  thou  canst  answer  me,  set 
thy  words  in  order  before  me,  stand  up.  Behold,  I  am  according  to  thy 
wish  in  God's  stead  :  I  also  am  formed  out  of  the  clay.  Behold,  my  terror 
shall  not  make  thee  afraid,  neither  shall  my  hand  be  heavy  upon  thee'*  (w.  1-7). 


330  2HE  PEOPLE* S  BIBLE,  [JobxxxiiL 

What  less  than  a  revelation  can  come  after  this  introduction  ? 
Have  not  many  young  teachers  ruined  themselves  by  their 
promises?  If  they  had  said  less,  and  done  more,  had  it  not 
been  better  with  them  ?  Had  not  their  fortune  been  sunnier 
and  their  latter  end  more  comfortable  ?  How  many  have  risen 
up  to  teach  the  Church  to  pull  down  her  bulwarks  and  fortresses? 
How  many  have  sprung  up,  saying  to  old  preachers,  Cease  your 
prating:  we  have  the  right  word;  we  have  brought  medicine 
with  us  for  the  healing  of  the  world's  sore :  stand  back,  and  let 
young  genius  have  its  opportunity  I  Elihu  has  introduced  himself 
thus,  and  yet  when  he  comes  to  deal  with  the  great  question 
which  was  before  the  minds  of  the  four  men,  what  has  he  to 
say  ?  He  has  run  so  splendidly  before  coming  to  the  wall  he 
had  to  leap  over,  that  he  stands  before  it  on  this  side.  He  has 
run  himself  out  of  breath.  Rhetorically  he  was  wrong ;  philo- 
sophically he  has  proved  himself  to  be  absurd.  He  repeats  the 
old  things  as  if  he  had  discovered  them.  Some  men  have  a 
wonderfully  self-deceiving  imagination  :  they  hear  things,  and  then 
suppose  that  they  have  invented  them ;  they  acquaint  themselves 
with  the  greatest  thinking  of  the  Church,  and  then  retail  the 
teachings  as  if  they  were  originalities.  If  Elihu  has  uttered  one 
solitary  original  observation,  we  shall  not  fail  to  discover  it  He 
must  be  original  before  we  give  him  credit  for  novelty. 

It  is  plain  from  all  that  has  taken  place  in  these  eloquent 
colloquies  that  preaching  abstract  doctrines,  however  true,  is 
useless.  We  must  leave  the  abstract  and  come  to  the  concrete, 
the  personal,  the  living,  the  real ;  we  must  find  the  value  of  the 
sermon  in  its  application.  We  have  a  right  to  say  to  teachers — 
What  does  your  lesson  amount  to  ?  When  it  is  all  told,  what  is 
it  ?  A  stroke  delivered  upon  the  life  of  the  enemy,  a  medica- 
ment applied  to  the  wound  of  the  suffering,  a  light  held  above 
the  path  of  the  perplexed.  What  is  it  ?  It  must  be  more  than 
words,  for  you  have  hindered  us  by  your  speeches ;  if  you  have 
nothing  for  us  but  mere  eloquence,  we  must  resent  the  introduc- 
tion as  an  affront  and  as  a  moral  disgrace.  Men  speak  of  God's 
righteousness,  and  of  man's  depravity,  and  all  that  is  said  sounds 
most  tuneful  and  harmonious;  the  lines  may  be  scanned  as  if 
they  were  poetry,  all  the  sentences  come  and  go  with  sweet 


Jobxxxiii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  331 

rhythm  :  but  what  is  there  in  them  for  our  human  need,  for  this 
bitter  and  tormenting  distress  ?  Even  truth  may  be  so  preached 
as  to  charge  God  foolishly.  The  very  attributes  of  God  may  be 
so  presented  as  to  drive  men  away  from  him.  The  listening 
man  must  insist  that,  not  only  shall  there  be  a  great  doctrine  in 
words  proclaimed,  but  it  shall  come  down  to  his  poverty  and 
wound  and  distress  and  darkness,  and  do  something  for  him; 
otherwise  it  is  wasted  omnipotence,  almightiness  playing  at 
thunderstorms  in  the  startled  air, — not  a  great  strong  arm 
brought  down  to  this  day's  battle  and  to  the  help  of  this 
day's  tremendous  struggle.  That  abstract  truth  may  be  pro- 
claimed, and  yet  leave  nothing  behind  it  that  is  of  the  nature 
of  strength  and  solace,  must  be  evident  if  we  consider  that 
these  men,  now  joined  by  Elihu,  have  insisted  that  all  men  are 
wrong,  and  therefore  Job  ought  to  accept  his  lot  with  equanimity, 
if  not  with  thankfulness.  But  observe  how  pointless  is  this 
remark  as  it  relates  to  Job.  It  is  perfectly  true  that  all  men  have 
done  wrong,  but  all  men  do  not  suffer  as  Job  suffered.  It  was 
open  to  Job  to  retort  upon  these  men,  If  we  have  all  done 
wrong,  why  am  I  suffering  and  ye  prating  ?  You  are  perfectly 
right  in  saying  we  have  all  done  wrong,  but  where  is  the  common 
penalty?  Compare  our  respective  lots  at  this  moment.  The 
patriarch  might  have  continued,  If  your  doctrine  is  right,  and 
the  only  doctrine,  and  is  to  be  preached  without  modification, 
without  speciality  of  meaning  and  adaptation,  then  how  do  you 
account  for  our  present  relation  the  one  to  the  other — I  the 
comforted,  you  the  comforters  ?  Were  we  all  in  one  condem- 
nation, then  we  should  be  uttering  one  lamentation,  and  we  should 
need  some  angel  from  heaven,  some  white-winged  life  from  the 
upper  spaces  of  creation,  to  bring  to  us  gospels,  and  words  of 
cheer  and  direction  and  sympathy  :  you  embarrass  me ;  I  cannot 
answer  your  doctrine,  for  that  is  right,  but  that  it  needs  some 
interpretation  you  have  not  given  it,  is  perfectly  clear  from  the 
facts :  were  we  all  overwhelmed,  were  we  all  lepers,  were  we 
all  sitting  in  dust  and  ashes,  then  the  proclamation  of  a  common 
depravity  would  meet  the  whole  of  the  case,  and  we  should  reply 
to  the  charge  with  a  common  consent ;  but  where  there  are  rich 
and  poor,  strong  and  weak,  prosperous  and  adverse ;  where  there 
are  people  who  are  'rioting  in  their  strength,  and  others  to  whom 


332  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxiil 

life  itself  is  a  vexation  and  a  weariness,  you  must  adapt  your 
doctrine;  otherwise  you  will  misrepresent  it.  Job  felt  that 
something  was  needed ;  he  said :  I  have  not  realised  the  whole 
quantity;  that  I  have  held  to  certain  great  central  truths  is 
evident  enough,  but  what  I  now  possess  must  be  brought  into 
relation  with  other  truths,  and  upon  the  whole  there  must  shine 
a  light  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun ;  otherwise  we  are  lost 
in  intellectual  bewilderment  and  moral  tumult.  So  we  cannot 
meet  the  world  by  the  proclamation  of  an  abstract  doctrine  only. 
What  is  true  needs  to  be  adapted.  Even  the  sunlight  needs 
to  be  atmosphered  in  order  to  accommodate  itself  to  human  vision 
and  the  general  condition  of  the  world  that  is  illuminated.  So 
an  abstract  doctrine  thundered  down  from  some  theological  height 
will  only  mock  the  world  it  was  intended  to  bless,  unless  it,  too, 
be  atmosphered,  set  in  right  relations,  and  brought  with  happy, 
yea,  with  inspired  skill  to  bear  upon  human  ignorance,  weakness, 
misery,  and  fall  into  all  the  undulations  of  human  experience 
with  a  grace  that  is  never  a  burden.  Proclaim  the  great  abstract 
doctrine  of  human  responsibility.  That  only  awakens  controversy. 
Where  can  there  be  responsibility  where  there  is  not  mutual 
consent  ?  When  men  were  not  asked  whether  they  would  come 
into  the  world  or  not,  why  start  a  great  solemn  doctrine  of 
responsibility  ?  When  men  are  of  unequal  capacity,  moral  fibre, 
intellectual  power ;  when  men  are  conditioned  without  their  own 
consent ;  when  their  very  conditions  of  life  chafe  them,  and  hinder 
them  from  prayer,  is  it  not  hard  to  thunder  down  upon  them  the 
abstract  doctrine — You  are  responsible,  and  you  must  answer  the 
responsibility  or  forfeit  your  immortal  blessedness?  Now  the 
doctrine  of  human  responsibility  is  right  Society  could  not 
exist  without  it.  The  doctrine  of  human  responsibility  finds  its 
corroboration  in  the  human  consciousness,  and  in  all  the  line 
of  social  experience  it  is  reaffirmed.  But  there  must  be  accom- 
modation of  this  doctrine  also  to  peculiar  circumstances  and 
disadvantages;  otherwise  it  will  be  resented,  because  it  will 
be  felt  to  be  a  weight  which  human  weakness  cannot  bear. 
*'  Of  some  have  compassion,  making  a  difference."  Jesus  Christ 
laid  down  the  doctrine  of  responsibility  and  judgment,  but  he 
said  :  From  him  to  whom  much  was  given  much  will  be  expected  ; 
from  him  to  whom  little  was  given  httle  will  be  expected  :  certain 


Jobxxxiii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  333 


men  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes ;  certain  other  men  with 
few  stripes.  The  doctrine  of  responsibility  is  not  an  abstract 
philosophy  to  be  hurled  over  the  entire  population  indiscri- 
minately ;  it  is  to  be  opened  up,  in  all  its  blessed  meaning,  in  all 
its  solemnity,  and  is  to  be  so  applied  that  every  man  will  answer 
in  his  own  heart,  That  is  right:  according  to  God's  gift  is  God's 
expectation ;  he  will  not  reap  where  he  has  not  sown  ;  TTeTs^not 
only  a  just  God,  but  a  merciful,  not  only  merciful  but  just ;  he 
will  judge,  therefore,  by  a  righteous  standard.  This  is  what  is 
meant  b""^  ^^ipting  doctrines,  individualising  them,  so  to  say,  and 
setting  them  in  right  relations,  so  that  they  shall  not  trouble  the 
conscience  and  bewilder  the  judgment,  but  carry  with  them  rather 
the  solemn  assent  and  consent  of  the  hearers  themselves. 

Here  is  the  great  failure  in  the  case  of  the  three  friends  and  of 
Elihu  :  they  spoke  broad  generalities ;  they  are  sure  the  doctrine 
is  right.  With  these  as  mere  utterances  we  have  no  fault  to 
find ;  but  where  was  the  wisdom  which  could  apply  the  doctrine 
to  the  individual  case  ?  where  the  holy  skill  that  could  fouch 
the  wound  without  aggravating  it?  where  that  learned  and 
eloquent  tongue  that  could  speak  a  word  in  season  to  him  that 
was  weary,  and  speak  as  if  he  were  singing  ? — who  could  utter 
himself  without  making  any  noise,  who  could  declare  a  judgment 
without  perpetrating  a  violence  ?  Such  condolence  is  the  very 
balm  of  heaven,  but  such  comfort  was  never  associated  with 
bald  generalities,  rough  vague  statements  of  truths  however  pro- 
found ;  such  condolence,  such  solace,  can  only  be  applied  out  of 
the  heart  that  has  itself  become  rich  in  experience,  and  learned 
through  many  a  long  school-day  how  to  sufifer  and  be  strong. 
Commonplaces,  however  profound  and  beautiful,  cannot  touch  the 
agony  of  life.  By  "commonplaces"  is  here  meant  statements 
which  may  for  their  truthfulness  pass  without  challenge:  they 
have  become  amongst  the  established  truths  of  the  world ;  they 
are  accepted ;  the  Church  listens  to  them  as  to  falling  rain ;  they 
excite  no  surprise ;  they  come  and  operate  as  by  a  gracious 
necessity.  But  what  we  want  is  particular  application,  study  of 
every  individual  case  :  each  heart  has  its  own  history ;  each 
spirit  knows  its  own  want.  The  spirit  of  a  man  alone  under- 
stands what  the  man  wants.     So  in  listening  to  great  broad 


334  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxiii. 


declarations  from  the  pulpit,  we  must  each  receive  these  declara- 
tions according  to  our  individual  need ;  they  cease  to  be  merely 
general  when  they  become  definitely  and  personally  applied.  In 
this  way  many  of  us  may  be  so  taught  of  God  as  to  know  just 
what  to  take,  because  taught  to  know  just  what  we  need.  We 
do  not  need  the  same  every  day,  or  under  every  combination  of 
oircumstanees  :  there  is  a  portion  of  meat  for  each  in  due  season. 
In  speaking  thus  we  do  not  dispute  the  doctrines  themselves  in 
all  their  abstract  completeness  and  grandeur;  we  simply  seek  to 
accommodate  them,  which  the  men  in  Job's  case  ^'^  pot,  to  a 
particular  and  exceptional  set  of  circumstances. 

Elihu  speaks  many  beautiful  things  : — 

"  For  I  know  not  to  give  flattering  titles ;  in  so  doing  my  maker  would  soon 
take  me  away  "  (xxxii.  22). 

How  many,  a  man  has  come  forward  to  say  that  he  was  not 
going  to  flatter  us,  and  by  so  saying  has  flattered  himself  I  How 
many  a  man  has  set  himself  on  too  high  a  pedestal  for  talking  to 
the  commonalty  01  the  world!  "My  maker  would  soon  take 
me  away  "  were  I  to  give  flattering  titles  unto  men.  Where  is 
the  common  ground  ?  Men  should  take  care  how  they  separate 
themselves  from  those  to  whom  they  would  minister.  The 
doctor  does  not  speak  from  behind  a  curtain ;  he  lays  his 
inquiring  hand  upon  the  poor  pulse,  and  whilst  it  is  there, 
listening,  so  to  say,  to  the  throb  of  weary  life,  he  makes  all  his 
notes  and  comments,  and  prepares  himself  for  the  prescription 
that  is  to  follow.  Any  dignity  that  separates  the  healing  man 
from  the  man  needing  healing  is  a  vicious  dignity,  and  should  be 
destroyed  when  man  comes  into  living  contact  with  man. 

Elihu  says,  in  verse  12,  "I  will  answer  thee,  that  God  is 
greater  than  man."  Why  these  commonplaces  ?  Job  had  never 
denied  that,  and  yet  Job's  case  was  never  touched.  The  man 
was  seized  as  if  he  had  hurled  accusations  against  all  the  theology 
of  the  ages.  He  says  in  effect,  I  have  never  doubted  these 
things :  what  are  you  talking  about  ?  To  whom  are  you  speak- 
ing? You  have  mistaken  my  identity;  I  am  a  man  of  prayer 
and  faith  and  devotion ;  you  are  talking  to  me  as  if  I  were  a 
pagan,  an  atheist,  an  infidel.  Are  we  not  all  often  spoken  to  in 
this  way  ?     There  is  a  secret  the  men  have  not  yet  got  at.     We 


Jobxxxiii.]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  335 

have  lived  in  vain  if  we  deny  the  operation  of  a  similar  secret  in 
all  our  preaching  and  teaching  and  ecclesiastical  relations. 
"Things  are  not  what  they  seem."  We  should  have  learned 
enough  by  this  time  to  say  to  an  exiled  suffering  man,  You  only 
can  at  present  view  the  surface:  what  thou  knowest  not  now 
thou  shalt  know  hereafter :  God  is  not  dealing  roughly  with  thee ; 
he  is  conducting  an  experiment ;  he  is  making  a  new  revelation  to 
the  observers  who  are  looking  abroad  for  manitestations  of  his 
method  of  government  and  training :  God  is  making  an  example 
of  thee,  and  he  is  teaching  through  thee:  say  to  him,  O  thou 
blessed  One,  cruel  is  this  wound  if  only  a  wound,  but  a  most 
blessed  dower  from  thine  hand  if  meant  to  teach  somewhat  of 
thy  kingdom  and  purpose  to  those  who  are  looking  on  :  thy 
grace  is  sufficient  for  me.  Only  by  some  such  line  as  this  can 
we  reconcile  providences  which  are  obvious  with  the  goodness 
which  is  often  denied.  Look  for  the  latter  end.  See  what  God 
will  do  at  the  last. 

"  Deliver  him  from  going  down  to  the  pit :  I  have  found  a  ransom  *' 
(v.  24). 

Many  have  found  Christ  in  this  verse.  We  are  not  aware 
that  he  is  literally  here.  Very  possibly,  were  the  words  limited 
to  mere  grammar,  nothing  of  Christ,  as  we  understand  that  term, 
could  be  found  in  the  verse.  It  is  right  that  we  should  first 
get  at  the  grammar,  and  settle  the  literal  sense  of  a  text :  but 
what  vase  could  hold  the  fragrance  so  well  as  the  rose  ?  Who 
can  tell  how  much  there  may  be  in  a  sentence  of  this  kind  that 
is  not  expressed  in  the  letter?  Why  try  to  find  as  little  as 
possible  in  the  letter  ?  Why  endeavour  to  prove  that  a  star  is 
no  larger  than  the  telescope  through  which  it  is  seen?  Why 
not  rather  take  another  course  of  exegesis,  and  say,  These  were 
seed-corns,  beginnings,  germs,  hints  of  things;  if  afterwards 
there  should  appear  in  the  pages  of  revelation  histories  that  can 
further  explain  these  enigmatical  expressions,  then  bring  together 
the  history  and  the  prophecy,  and  let  the  one  illuminate  or 
explain  the  other.  Certainly,  the  Christian  belief  is  that  God  has 
found  a  ransom  ;  that  God  means  that  we  should  be  saved  from 
the  pit.  Elihu  may  not  have  known  what  he  was  talking  about : 
he  is  none  the  less  a  good  teacher  for  that.     It  is  not  necessary 


336  THE  PEOPLE*  S  BIBLE,  Qobxxxiii. 

that  there  should  be  self-consciousness  in  order  that  there  should 
be  divine  revelation  :  sometimes  we  are  not  to  know  whether  we 
are  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  ;  many  a  time  we  have  to  be 
but  mere  instruments  through  which  God  will  blow  across  the 
ages  the  music  of  his  gospel ;  sometimes  we  are  to  be  but  signs 
or  symbols  by  which  a  little  vanishing  personality  shall  prefigure 
a  great  and  eternal  truth.  So  would  I  teach,  that  men  are  not  to 
deplete  Scripture  of  all  good  and  gracious  meaning,  but  rather 
find  in  it  more  than  appears  to  be  in  the  letter,  if  so  be  that  the 
criticism  is  guided  by  conscience  and  reason,  and  is  consonant 
with  the  great  truths  which  Christian  history  has  established. 
Observe  how  I  protect  the  Word  from  mere  exaggeration,  from 
foolish  romance,  or  vicious  or  sophistical  spiritualisings,  and  how 
I  hold  that  prophetic  meanings  are  only  to  come  as  history 
grows,  as  history  takes  them  up  and  shows  them  in  their  vivid 
and  actual  applications. 

What  wonderful  forecasts  of  evangelical  doctrine  there  are  in 
the  Old  Testament :  take  for  example  verses  27,  28 — 

"  He  looketh  upon  men,  and  if  any  say,  I  have  sinned,  and  perverted  that 
which  was  right,  and  it  profited  me  not ;  he  will  deliver  his  soul  from  going 
into  the  pit,  and  his  life  shall  see  the  light." 

Elihu  was  not  a  conscious  evangelical  preacher.  If  any  one 
should  arise  and  say.  The  grammar  of  that  text  does  not  admit  of 
a  gospel  interpretation,  as  you  understand  it,  he  shall  have  the 
grammar,  but  when  he  has  received  his  tribute  we  still  feel  that 
history  has  so  evolved  itself  as  to  give  blessed  and  gracious 
confirmation  to  the  evangehcal  interpretation  of  these  words. 
They  might  have  been  spoken  by  John — "If  we  confess  our 
sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to 
cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness."  Thus  the  two  Testaments 
are  one.  Men  spoke  in  the  dawn,  when  they  hardly  saw  the 
exact  figure  of  things,  but  the  sun  has  not  contradicted  them  as 
he  has  risen  to  the  zenith ;  he  has  simply  cleared  away  the 
cloud,  made  definite  that  which  was  vague;  and  there  is  no 
contradiction  in  the  New  Testament  of  any  moral  doctrine  of  the 
Old  Testament ;  the  covenants  blend  in  conforming  unity. 

Elihu  was  only  wrong  in  his  application  of  the  truth ;  he  would 


JobxxxiiL]  THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  ^n 

have  Job  fall  down  and  say  that  he  had  been  liar,  thief,  murderer, 
hypocrite ;  then  the  men  would  have  been  pleased  ;  they  would 
have  said  to  Job,  Now  expect  redemption,  and  forgiveness,  and 
cleansing,  and  a  new  start  in  life.  But  Job  could  not  do  this ;  he 
said :  I  am  not  the  bad  man  you  suppose  I  am, — and  Job  in  so 
asserting  himself  only  claimed  the  character  which  God  himself 
had  given  him.  Observe  that,  for  it  is  a  vital  fact.  With  what 
character  does  Job  begin  the  book?  Pronounced  by  God,  the 
tribute  is  this — "  That  man  was  perfect  and  upright,  and  one  that 
feared  God,  and  eschewed  evil."  Such  was  God's  direct  testimony 
to  this  suffering  patriarch.  And  Job  shows  a  wonderful  constancy 
in  not  giving  up  his  character ;  in  effect  he  says.  Everything  has 
been  taken  from  me,  but  you  shall  not  take  away  my  consciousness 
of  at  least  aiming  to  be  good  and  right  with  God.  Then  they  came 
upon  him  and  said,  To  thy  knees,  thou  base  hyprocrite ;  pour  out 
thy  confession  like  a  river ;  spare  nothing  of  self-abasement ; 
yea,  speak  aloud  thy  sins,  and  we  will  hear  thee  as  priests  might 
listen.  Job  said.  No,  I  have  no  such  speech  to  make ;  all  this 
came  upon  me  without  any  desert  on  my  side  :  I  never  spared  a 
prayer,  I  never  abbreviated  an  act  of  worship,  I  never  turned 
away  a  poor  man  from  my  table,  no  one  ever  perished  within  my 
gates  or  outside  of  them  to  my  knowledge ;  I  am  not  going  to  say 
I  am  bad  when  I  feel  perfectly  sure  I  am  to-day  just  what  I  have 
been  for  the  many  years  of  my  prosperity  and  honour.  We 
must  not  be  immoral  in  our  confessions ;  we  must  not  be  immoral 
in  our  moanings  and  lamentations.  Character  is  not  so  easily 
procured  that  we  can  afford  to  part  with  it  lightly  even  in 
religious  confessions.  He  who  would  give  away  his  character 
in  order  to  obtain  a  sentimental  peace  will  defeat  his  own 
purpose.  God  does  not  expect  us  so  to  deal  with  the  character, 
which  is  his  own  work.  A  great  character  is  a  divine 
miracle.  A  holy  character  is  no  work  of  man's,  in  any 
mechanical  or  limited  sense ;  it  expresses  a  grand  co-operation 
between  the  divine  and  the  human.  "  Work  out  your  own 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling.  For  it  is  God  which  worketh 
in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure."  Having 
therefore  lived  twenty,  thirty,  fifty  years  in  prayer,  in  submission 
to  the  divine  will,  in  anxious  solicitude  to  know  what  God  has 
said  and  to  do  it,  and  having  fallen  into  suffering,  you  have  lost 

VOL.  ZL  22 


338  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxiii. 

your  property,  your  children  have  wounded  you,  your  house 
has  been  completely  darkened  in  every  room,  every  fire  has  been 
put  out,  the  voices  of  music  have  ceased  in  the  dwelling^ — 
bethink  you  the  reason  is  not  necessarily  that  you  ceased  tc 
pray,  or  that  all  the  world  is  depraved,  or  that  God  has  a  right 
to  do  arbitrarily  with  you  what  he  may :  you  must  go  higher, 
you  must  go  deeper;  human  life  is  an  education,  a  drill,  a 
continuous  and  ever-varying  discipline.  We  may  pray  for 
patience,  we  may  complain  that  the  wound  is  very  sore;  God 
knows  our  frame,  he  remembers  that  we  are  dust;  he  does  not 
expect  us  to  laugh  the  fool's  laugh  when  he  himself  has  darkened 
the  house,  and  increased  the  burden,  and  put  our  poor  strength 
to  severest  strain;  he  does  not  expect  us  to  sing  all  the  jubilant 
psalms  when  the  valley  is  very  deep  and  dark,  and  filled  with  a 
cold  wind — cold  as  the  breath  of  death  itself.  He  knows  our 
weakness.  He  is  working  out  some  great  miracle  through  us. 
He  has  almost  asked  our  permission  to  prove  through  us  that 
his  grace  is  sufficient  for  every  human  extremity,  and  that  his 
kingdom  in  the  heart  of  man  can  bear  every  thunder  of  hell, 
every  blast  of  the  pit,  and  yet  stand.  If  he  has  chosen  some  of 
us  through  whom  to  prove  this,  our  suffering  will  be  very  great ; 
but  what  will  the  end  be  ?  What  song  of  gladness,  what  psalm 
of  triumph,  what  shout  of  victory  I  Only  after  death  can  we 
explain  what  happened  in  our  lifetime. 


Chapters  xxxii.,  xxxiv. 

THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU. 

III. 

ELIHU  may  show  us  what  conception  of  God  had  been 
formed  by  a  young  mind.  If  we  cannot  follow  the  thread 
of  his  argument,  we  can  join  him  here  and  there,  and  consider 
diligently  what  view  of  the  divine  nature  and  government  a 
mind  evidently  audacious  and  energetic,  yet  reverent  and  docile, 
had  formed.  Elihu  does  not  come  before  us  as  necessarily 
young  in  years,  but  as  comparatively  young ;  he  had  kept  silence 
while  older  men  were  speaking ;  he  claims  distinctly  to  be  heard 
because  of  his  inferior  age :  it  is  legitimate,  therefore,  to  regard 
the  whole  of  his  exposition  as  one  which  is  uttered  by  a  youthful, 
modest,  yet  active  mind. 

Who  was  the  God  of  Elihu  ?  Was  he  a  deity  that  could  com- 
mand homage?  Does  he  sit  upon  an  appointed  place  like  a 
helpless  idol?  or  is  he  intelligent,  watchful,  judicial,  righteous? 
It  will  be  interesting  to  discover  what  kind  of  deity  was  avowed 
and  honoured  so  long  ago. 

"The  Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  hath 
given  me  life  "  (xxxiii.  4). 

The  Bible  has  no  difficulty  in  connecting  human  life  instantly 
with  God.  There  is  a  wonderful  sense  of  nearness  as  between 
the  Creator  and  the  created.  Elihu  does  not  interpose  millions 
of  ages  between  the  creating  God  and  the  created  man ;  he  rather 
speaks  of  the  creation  as  the  very  last  thing  that  was  done. 
Elihu  does  not  say, — I  am  the  result  of  intermediate  operations 
and  causes,  and  secondary  influences ;  I  represent  the  civilisation 
of  my  line  or  day.  He  speaks  as  Adam  might  have  spoken  when 
he  was  turned  from  the  hand  of  God  a  living  man,  a  divine 
image.     This  young  poet — if  he  were  only  a  poet — stands  next 


340  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Jobxxxiii.,xxxiv. 

to  God,  and  says — I  am  the  man  whom  God  made;  the  very 
breath  I  am  now  breathing  I  received  from  him.  All  this  of 
course  may  be  poetry,  but  all  this  may  also  be  fact,  reality,  and 
only  poetry  in  the  sense  in  which  poetry  is  the  highest  truth. 
What  do  we  gain  by  considering  that  we  were  created  by  the 
Almighty  countless  miUions  of  ages  ago,  as  compared  with  the 
thought  that  every  one  of  us  is  his  handiwork,  as  it  were  just 
made,  the  very  last  proof  of  his  omnipotence  and  wisdom  and 
love  ?  We  gain  much  by  the  latter  view :  we  are  thus  placed 
very  close  to  God ;  he  might  be  looking  at  us  now ;  he  might  be 
speaking  of  us  as  his  latest  wonder,  the  last  miracle  of  his 
creative  energy.  There  are  the  two  views ;  let  men  adopt  which 
seems  right  to  their  reason  when  it  is  illuminated  by  revelation. 
Either  way  we  are  God's  creatures ;  from  neither  theory  is  God 
excluded,  only  in  the  latter  he  seems  to  some  of  us  to  be  nearer ; 
— he  cannot  be  nearer  in  reality,  for  the  ages  are  nothing  to  him, 
but  he  is  nearer  to  our  imagination,  our  sympathy,  our  need,  our 
whole  desire;  it  seems  to  suit  our  weakness  best  at  least,  to 
think  that  God  has  just  made  us  and  that  in  our  nostrils  is  the 
breath  we  have  but  just  caught  from  him.  This  was  the  stand- 
point of  Elihu.  It  enabled  him  to  speak  with  great  solemnity 
in  the  argument.  Elihu  did  not  pretend  to  come  into  it  as  a 
discoverer,  an  inventor,  a  moral  genius,  a  man  gifted  in  the 
reading  of  riddles;  he  came  into  the  argument  as  a  distinct 
creation  of  God,  a  man  different  from  any  who  had  spoken,  with 
an  individuality  that  involved  responsibility ; — he  speaks  as  if  he 
had  overheard  God,  and  had  been  empowered  to  tell  others  what 
God  had  revealed  to  him. 

Observe  how  he  proceeds — 

"  For  God  speaketh  once,  yea  twice,  yet  man  perceiveth  it  not  **  (xxxiii. 
14). 

Let  the  meaning  be  this:  God  does  not  speak  in  one  way 
only ;  there  is  nothing  monotonous  in  the  divine  government : 
God  speaks  ''once,"  "twice," — that  is,  in  one  way,  in  two 
ways,  in  many  ways,  in  apparently  self-contradictory  ways, — 
now  in  the  high  heavens,  now  in  the  deep  earth ;  sometimes 
in  visions  of  the  night,  often  by  moral  intuitions,  sudden  start- 
lings  of  the  mind  into  new  energies,  and  sudden   investitures 


TBOI        ^ 


Jobxxxiii.,xxxiv.]     THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU. 

of  the  whole  nature  with  new  powers  and  capabilities.  Elihu 
will  not  have  God  bound  down  to  one  way  of  revelation ;  Elihu 
rather  says  :  God  reveals  himself  in  nature,  in  providence,  in 
history,  in  human  consciousness,  in  social  combinations, — in 
the  mystery  of  life's  great  circumference  :  whoever  has  a 
new  thought  has  it  from  God  ;  whoever  has  a  right  vision  is 
indebted  to  God  for  his  vision  :  "  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God," — that  is  to  say,  God  can  sustain  life  in  a  thousand 
dift'erent  ways :  if  there  were  no  wheat,  it  would  make  no 
difference  to  the  sustenance  of  man  upon  the  earth ;  if  the 
earth  refused  to  grov/  one  root  or  fruit,  God  could  still  keep  man 
upon  the  earth  as  vigorously  and  as  usefully  as  ever :  God  is  not 
confined  to  one  method  of  operation ;  Let  us  then,  Elihu  would 
say,  acknowledge  God  in  whatever  form  he  may  come ;  do  not 
exclude  God  from  any  part  of  the  ministry  of  the  universe :  if 
you  think  you  see  him  in  the  star,  you  do  see  him  ;  it  is  the  star 
that  is  lifted  up  in  glory  and  suggestiveness,  not  the  deity  that 
is  brought  down  into  finite  bounds  :  if  any  flower  of  the  field  can 
help  you  to  see  into  heaven  look  through  it :  if  you  can  hear 
music  in  the  trill  and  carol  of  birds,  hear  it,  and  magnify  it  until 
you  get  some  hint  of  the  infinite  music  of  heaven.  This  is  not 
idolatry;  it  is  the  proper  magnifying  of  nature,  the  proper 
extension  of  all  history  and  providence  :  thus  you  are  lifted  up, 
and  from  higher  levels  can  behold  wider  spaces.  How  much  we 
lose  in  thinking  that  God  is  confined  to  one  house,  place,  hour, 
day,  week !  Thus  we  become  idolaters,  and  thus  we  exclude 
many  from  the  altar  who  are  really  worshipping  at  it.  All  men 
are  not  religious  in  the  same  way :  there  is  a  diversity  of 
operation  even  in  the  religious  regions  and  outlooks  of  life. 
What  if  some  men  shall  be  found  to  be  religious  who  never 
supposed  themselves  to  be  such  ?  God  speaketh  once,  yea 
twice,  yea  thrice:  his  voice  covers  the  whole  gamut  of  utterance, 
and  men  who  speak  truth  in  any  department  of  life,  of  art,  of 
science,  speak  God's  truth,  for  all  truth  is  God's. 

So  far  Elihu  might  have  been  a  modern  teacher,  so  advanced, 
so  progressive  is  he.  From  no  point  will  he  have  God  excluded. 
If  a  man  has  a  dream  he  will  say.  Tell  it,  for  even  in  visions 


342  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Jobxxxiii.^xxxiv. 

of  the  night  God  shows  himself.  If  a  man  can  only  speak  through 
his  harp,  Elihii  says,  Play  it,  and  we  will  tell  you  whether  God 
or  devil  stretched  the  strings,  and  taught  your  fingers  to  discourse 
upon  them.  There  is  a  spirit  in  man,  a  verifying  faculty,  a 
child-heart,  that  knows  what  the  father  said,  and  knows  the  very 
tone  in  which  he  said  it. 

Of  one  thing  Elihu  seems  to  be  supremely  certain — 

"Far  be  it  from  God,  that  he  should  do  wickedness;  and  from  the 
Almighty,  that  he  should  commit  iniquity"  (xxxiv.   lo). 

Elihu  now  occupies  moral  ground.  His  deity  is  not  a  majestic 
outline ;  it  is  a  heart,  a  conscience,  the  very  source  and  centre 
of  life.  This  gives  comfort  wherever  it  is  realised.  A  thought 
like  this  enables  man  to  give  time  to  God,  that  he  may  out  of 
a  multitude  of  details  shape  a  final  meaning.  Elihu  says  in 
eifect,  Things  look  very  troubled  now :  it  seems  as  if  we  were 
dealing  with  shapelessness,  rather  than  with  order  and  definite 
meaning :  now  the  great  space  of  the  firmament  is  full  of  thunders 
and  lightnings  and  tempests,  and  the  very  foundations  of  things 
seem  to  be  ploughed  up  ;  but  write  this  down  as  the  first  item 
in  your  creed,  and  the  middle,  and  the  last — "  far  be  it  from  God, 
that  he  should  do  wickedness ;  and  from  the  Almighty,  that  he 
should  do  iniquity  ....  Yea,  surely  God  will  not  do  wickedly, 
neither  will  the  Almighty  pervert  judgment."  Then  wait :  he 
will  bring  forth  judgment  as  the  morning,  and  righteousness  as 
the  noonday.  Such  doctrines  establish  the  heart  in  gracious 
confidence.  They  do  not  blind  men  to  the  tumult  and  confusion 
which  are  so  manifest  on  all  the  surface  of  life ;  such  doctrines 
enable  men  to  cultivate  and  exemplify  the  grace  or  virtue  of 
patience  :  they  acknowledge  that  appearances  are  against  their 
doctrine,  but  they  claim  time  for  the  Almighty  :  they  reason 
analogically ;  they  say,  Look  at  nature  ;  look  at  human  life ;  look 
at  any  great  enterprise  entered  into  by  men  :  what  digging,  what 
blasting  of  rocks,  what  marvellous  confusion,  what  a  want  of 
evident  form  and  shape  and  design  I  Yet  when  months  have 
come  and  gone,  and  architects  and  builders  have  carried  out  their 
whole  purpose,  they  retire,  and  say,  Behold  what  we  have  been 
aiming  at  all  the  time, — then  in  great  temple,  or  wide  noble 
bridge  spanning  boiling  rivers,  we  see  that  when  we  thought  all 


Jobxxxiii,xxxiv.]    THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  343 

things  were  in  confusion,  they  were  being  carried  on  to  order  and 
shape  and  perfectness  and  utility.  So  Elihu  says,  One  thing 
is  certain  :  to  be  God  he  must  be  good ;  if  he  were  wicked  he 
would  not  be  God  :  brethren,  he  would  say  in  modern  language, 
Let  us  pray  where  we  cannot  reason,  let  us  wait  where  we  cannot 
move;  our  waiting  may  be  service,  our  prayer  may  be  the 
beginning  of  new  opportunities. 

Following  this  doctrine,  and  part  and  parcel  of  it,  Elihu 
advances  to  say — 

"  For  the  work  of  a  man  shall  he  render  unto  him,  and  cause  every  man 
to  find  according  to  his  ways"  (xxxiv.  II). 

Being  righteous,  he  will  cause  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  to 
proceed  whatever  happens  in  relation  to  human  conduct  and 
spiritual  results.  This  is  what  Paul  said — "  Be  not  deceived ; 
God  is  not  mocked  :  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also 
reap.*'  That  is  a  New  Testament  translation  of  Old  Testament 
words — "  For  the  work  of  a  man  shall  he  render  unto  him,  and 
cause  every  man  to  find  according  to  his  ways."  How  much 
have  we  advanced  beyond  that  doctrine  ?  Where  is  the  differ- 
ence between  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  in  this  particular  ? 
God  is  of  one  mind ;  who  can  turn  him  as  to  the  law  of  moral 
cause  and  moral  effect  ?  A  man  cannot  sow  one  kind  of  seed 
and  reap  another  :  the  sowing  determines  the  harvest.  Elihu 
might  make  a  false  application  of  this  principle  to  Job,  but  the 
principle  itself  is  right.  It  is  of  value  as  showing  the  conception 
which  Elihu  had  formed  of  God's  nature.  He  was  worshipping 
a  God  worthy  of  his  homage.  Again  let  us  say,  he  was  not 
worshipping  an  idol,  a  vain  imagination  of  his  own ;  and  again 
let  us  apply  to  ourselves  the  holy  proof  of  God's  rule,  that  what- 
ever he  does  he  does  it  from  a  spirit  of  right  and  with  a  purpose 
of  right,  and  that  in  all  his  doing  there  is  no  compromise  with 
evil,  no  concession  to  wicked  principles  or  powers.  God  is 
righteous ;  true  and  righteous  altogether.  Let  a  man  have  that 
conception  of  God,  and  how  quiet  he  is  I  Though  the  floods  lift 
up  their  voice  and  roar,  yet  still  he  says,  There  is  a  river  the 
streams  whereof  shall  make  glad  the  city  of  God  :  though  the 
wicked  triumph  for  a  time,  yea,  in  great  noise  and  great  pomp ; 
yet,  he  says,  his  triumphing  is  but  for  a  moment,  his  joy  is  but 


344  TH^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,     [Job xxxiii., xxxiv. 

a  flash,  to  be  lost  in  the  enclosing  and  eternal  darkness.  Without 
such  convictions  we  are  driven  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine ; 
the  doctrines  themselves,  which  are  unformed  and  unsettled, 
trouble  us.  What  are  we  to  do  in  relation  to  such  doctrines  ? 
To  come  back  every  ni^ht  to  our  rocky  home,  to  the  great 
fortresses  established  in  the  holy  revelation,  to  the  sanctuary 
of  God's  righteousness,  to  the  impossibility  of  his  thinking,  being, 
or  doing  anything  that  is  wrong.  Here  we  find  rest,  and  from 
this  high  sanctuary  we  can  look  abroad  upon  all  the  excitement 
and  tumult  of  the  times,  and  wait  in  loving  and  expectant  patience 
for  the  growing  light,  for  the  descending  revelation,  for  the  new 
promise  that  shall  give  us  new  consolation. 

Then  Elihu  might  have  lived  to-day.  Verily  he  seems  to  be 
worshipping  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He 
might  not  be  able  to  say  so  in  words,  to  realise  it  in  all  the 
fulness  and  sweetness  of  its  meaning;  but  he,  in  the  far-away 
time,  had  a  clear  vision  of  God's  personality,  God's  government, 
and  God's  holiness. 

What  a  comprehensive  view  of  God  he  gives  us — 

"  Shall  even  he  that  hateth  right  govern  ?  and  wilt  thou  condemn  him 
that  is  most  just  ?  Is  it  fit  to  say  to  a  king,  Thou  art  wicked  ?  and  to 
princes,  Ye  are  ungodly?  How  much  less  to  him  that  accepteth  not  the 
persons  of  princes,  nor  regardeth  the  rich  more  than  the  poor  ?  for  they  all 
are  the  work  of  his  hands.  In  a  moment  shall  they  die,  and  the  people 
shall  be  troubled  at  midnight,  and  pass  away :  and  the  mighty  shall  be 
taken  away  without  hand.  For  his  eyes  are  upon  the  ways  of  man,  and  he 
seeth  all  his  goings.  There  is  no  darkness,  nor  shadow  of  death,  where  the 
workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  themselves  "  (xxxiv.  vv.  17-22). 

Observe  here  the  action  of  what  may  be  called  the  moral 
imagination.  We  are  at  liberty  to  expand  what  we  do  know  of 
God  in  the  letter.  This  is  the  meaning  of  preaching.  The 
preaching  however  must  be  the  expansion  of  what  is  found  in 
revelation.  If  there  be  in  one  discourse  a  word  of  man's  own 
making,  it  must  be  taken  out.  Not  an  evidence  of  man's  inven- 
tion must  be  found  in  any  discourse.  Whatever  is  said  must  be 
provable  by  what  is  written.  Expansion  is  our  sphere ;  tender, 
gracious,  beautiful  amplification  is  the  work  to  which  we  are 
called  :  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  but  when,  the  mustard-tree  is  iimwn  it  is  rsot  an  oak,  nor  a 


Jobxxxm..xxxiv.]    THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  345 

cedar;  it  is  still  what  it  was  in  the  seed.  So  Elihu  resorts  to 
images,  illustrations,  rhetorical  enlargements,  and  the  like;  but 
he  is  always  tethered  to  the  centre,  always  fixed  in  the  settled 
and  eternal  truths;  what  he  does  otherwise  he  may  do  as  the 
result  of  inspired  genius,  but  it  is  all  consonant  with  what  is 
positively  and  definitely  revealed.  What  then  do  we  know  of 
God  ?  Nothing  of  ourselves.  We  have  imaginings,  conjectures, 
suggestions,  quite  a  thousand  in  number,  but  as  they  are  only 
imaginings,  suggestions,  and  conjectures  they  are  open  to  all 
kinds  of  disappointment;  but  when  we  come  to  revelation,  and 
fix  our  eyes  there,  we  feel  that  we  are  building  our  house  upon 
a  rock,  and  being  built  upon  a  rock,  we  can  wait ;  we  can  say, 
Let  the  storm  rise  and  fall ;  we  havie  nothing  to  do  with  it  whilst 
it  rages ;  when  it  is  passed  we  shall  see  what  is  left  behind. 
Always  distinguish  between  the  foam  and  the  sea,  between  that 
which  is  superficial  and  that  which  is  central  and  everlasting; 
and  be  not  tossed  about  by  the  wind  that  blows  over  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  but  rest  confidently  and  lovingly  in  the  living  God. 

Elihu  now  comes  closely  to  us  with  a  gentle  gospel  message, 
and  because  of  the  gentleness  of  his  message  we  are  the  more 
assured  of  the  validity  of  his  reasoning — "  For  he  will  not  lay 
upon  man  more  than  right " — (xxxiv.  23).  This  is  the  way  by 
which  we  are  to  judge  the  Bible.  If  we  were  governed  wholly 
by  the  majestic  images  of  the  Bible,  we  should  be  overwhelmed, 
unable  to  follow  the  high  delineation ;  we  should  be  blinded  by 
excess  of  light ;  but  the  Bible  comes  down  from  its  high  revela- 
tions, and  speaks  comfortingly  to  troubled  lives,  to  broken  hearts, 
to  weary  travellers;  and  because  it  is  so  sympathetic  and  gracious 
in  our  weakness  and  sorrow,  we  begin  to  feel  that  when  it  rises, 
expands,  and  flames  in  unutterable  splendour,  it  may  be  equally 
right  there  :  the  foot  of  the  ladder  is  upon  the  earth;  the  head 
of  the  ladder  is  lifted  up  into  glory,  and  we  cannot  see  it.  It  is 
even  so  with  this  divine  revelation  of  God.  When  he  is  set  forth 
as  Infinite,  Eternal,  Everlasting,  Jehovah,  Sovereign,  we  are  lost, 
we  cannot  follow  up  this  dizzy  way  of  utterance ;  but  when  he 
is  called  by  such  terms  as  enable  us  to  see  that  he  is  loving, 
gentle,  piteous,  compassionate,  lifting  up  those  that  be  bowed 
down,  and  comforting  with   tender   solaces  those  whose  hearts 


346  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Jobxxxiii,|xxxiv. 

are  sore,  then  we  begin  to  feel  that  what  was  so  majestic  at  the 
one  end,  and  so  tender  at  the  other,  may  be  harmonious,  may  be 
one,  may  be  the  very  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
A  wonderful  thing  this  for  Elihu  to  have  discovered  by  himself. 
Who  ever  discovered  God  in  equal  terms  and  equal  proportions  ? 
Is  this  man  talking  out  of  his  own  emptiness  and  vanity  of  mind  ? 
Is  it  possible  that  a  man  younger  than  those  who  were  listening 
to  him  conceived  all  this  regarding  God  ?  Then  in  very  deed 
here  is  the  supreme  miracle  in  the  intellectual  history  of  mankind. 
Here  is  a  man  who  without  communication  with  the  other  world 
has  discovered  a  God  infinite  in  majesty,  in  wisdom,  in  power  ; 
tender,  gracious,  loving  in  spirit;  righteous,  pure,  holy  in  his 
nature;  revealing  all  things  to  the  benefit  of  all.  One  of  two 
things  must  have  been  :  either  this  man  Elihu  invented  all  this,  and 
thus  became  practically  as  good  as  the  thing  which  he  invented  ; 
or  it  was  revealed  to  him  and  he  as  an  instrument  revealed  it  to 
others.  This  latter  view  Christian  readers  of  the  Bible  adopt. 
They  do  not  believe  in  an  invented  God,  but  in  a  God  revealed ; 
in  a  God  who  will  not  lay  upon  man  more  than  is  right ;  in  a 
God  who  knoweth  our  frame  and  remembereth  that  we  are 
dust ;  in  a  God  that  never  reaps  where  he  has  not  sown ;  a 
righteous  God,  revealed  to  the  world  through  the  intuition  or  the 
experience  of  mankind,  or  by  direct  and  startling  revelation  in 
vision  and  dream  of  the  night.  Be  the  method  what  it  may,  here 
he  is  in  light,  in  love,  in  faithfulness, — a  God  whom  we  adore, 
not  with  reverence  only  because  he  is  great,  but  with  sympathy 
and  love  because  he  is  good. 

The  very  necessity  by  which  God  loves  the  right  makes  him 
oppose  the  wicked.  He  will  not  have  wicked  men  living  as  if  in 
his  complacency — "  He  striketh  them  as  wicked  men  in  the  open 
sight  of  others:"  he  overpowers  them;  he  fills  them  with 
disdain  and  contempt ;  if  he  allows  them  to  travel  half-way  up 
the  hill  it  is  that  their  fall  may  be  the  greater.  Never  did  he 
endorse  the  wicked  man.  No  spirit  of  evil  can  produce  a  certifi- 
cate from  heaven,  saying.  Behold  how  I  am  written  of  by  your 
God,  and  commended  by  him  whom  ye  worship  as  holy.  This, 
too,  was  a  wonderful  thing  for  the  unaided  Elihu  to  have  dis- 
covered.    Appearances  were  against  him  :  wicked  men  have  not 


Jobxxxiii,xxxiv.]     THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  347 

seldom  had  more  than  good  men,  so  far  as  the  possession  of  the 
hand  is  concerned ;  wicked  men  have  been  in  high  places ;  and 
yet  here  are  men — Elihu  and  others — saying,  looking  on  these 
facts,  What  you  believe  to  be  facts  are  only  appearances,  mere 
phases  of  things ;  within  all  is  a  righteous  spirit,  and  the  end  of  all 
is  the  confusion  of  every  form  and  purpose  of  evil.  Elihu  never 
discovered  that :  this  also  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
which  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in  working.  We  must 
await  the  issue,  but  here  is  our  supreme  difficulty — to  wait  when 
we  are  impatient ;  to  know  that  the  right  will  come,  and  yet  not 
to  be  able  to  show  it  instantaneously,  when  men  are  waiting  for 
it, — oh,  that  is  trying  !  It  gives  the  mocker  opportunity  to  jeer. 
We  are  sure  there  is  a  proof,  and  we  are  positive  that  by-and-by 
it  will  be  revealed,  yet  now,  face  to  face  with  the  sneerer,  he 
seems  to  have  it  all  his  own  way.  Then  what  a  struggle  there  is 
between  faith  and  impatience,  between  confidence  and  weakness ! 
how  then  we  long  that  God  would  open  a  window  in  heaven,  and 
would  speak  from  some  opening  glory  in  the  skies  and  declare 
himself !  Yet  he  is  far  away,  so  far  as  silence  can  remove  him  ; 
yea,  he  is  dumb  when  the  great  controversy  seems  to  beat 
against  the  very  door  of  heaven.  The  Christian  says  we  must 
wait ;  we  can  hasten  nothing ;  we  can  toil  as  if  we  believed ;  we 
can  confirm  our  faith  by  our  life,  and  having  done  that  we  can 
do  no  more. 

Elihu  asks  a  question,  which  brings  us  to  our  right  level — 
"  Should  it  be  according  to  thy  mind  ?  " — (xxxiv.  33).  Which  is  to 
be  the  supreme  intelligence  ?  That  is  the  great  question.  Who 
is  to  be  on  the  throne  ?  Who  is  to  be  uppermost  ?  Who  is  to 
speak  the  guiding  word  ?  It  must  either  be  the  mind  of  man  or 
the  mind  of  God.  Elihu  says.  Shall  it  be  the  mind  of  man  ? 
See  what  man  has  done ;  behold  all  the  way  through  which  he 
has  passed,  and  see  how  he  has  been  correcting  himself,  stultify- 
ing himself,  coming  back  from  his  prodigalities,  reversing  his 
judgments,  and  rewriting  his  vows.  The  world  cannot  be  ad- 
ministered according  to  a  finite  or  limited  mind.  It  comes  to 
this,  then ;  that  such  a  world  as  ours,  and  such  a  universe  as  we 
know  it,  must  be  ruled  by  a  mind  equal  to  the  occasion.  We 
who  cannot  tell  what  will  happen  to-morrow  ought  to  be  silent 


348  THE  FEOPLE'S  BIBLE,    [Job  xxxiii.,  xxxiv. 

rather  than  audible ;  we  should  wait,  rather  than  advance  :  if  we 
could  prove  our  infallibility  we  might  assert,  but  until  we  can 
establish  it  as  a  fact  we  must  not  broach  it  as  a  theory.  The 
universe  is  too  large  for  our  management.  We  cannot  manage 
our  own  affairs  without  blunder  and  mistake :  how  much  less 
then  could  we  manage  the  affairs  of  all  men,  and  the  courses  of 
all  worlds,  and  the  destinies  of  all  operations  I  It  is  ours  to 
believe  that  God  ruleth  over  all  and  is  blessed  for  evermore; 
that  all  things,  visible  and  invisible,  are  parts  of  a  great  empire, 
of  which  God  is  King  and  Lord.  It  is  a  noble  faith.  No  man 
may  come  to  the  acceptance  of  this  faith  on  the  ground  of  weak- 
mindedness.  No  man  can  accept  this  faith  without  being  men- 
tally enlarged  and  ennobled.  It  may  be  assented  to  without 
reasoning  and  without  reflection,  and  then  it  is  not  a  religion  but 
a  superstition ;  or  it  may  be  received  upon  our  knees,  lovingly, 
adoringly,  consentingly ;  our  acceptance  of  it  may  be  the  last 
result  of  our  inspired  reasoning :  then  it  becomes  a  faith,  a  re- 
ligion, an  inspiration,  and  we  bow  down  before  it,  not  ashamed 
because  we  cannot  explain  it,  but  glorying  rather  because  its 
mystery  will  not  come  into  human  words,  and  all  its  meaning 
is  too  vast  for  the  tiny  vessel  of  human  speech. 

What  God  then  shall  we  have  ?  We  must  have  some  deity. 
We  may  deify  ourselves,  and  thus  become  fools ;  or  we  may 
worship  the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  ihus  receive  an  instruction 
which  operates  even  more  directly  upon  the  moral  than  upon  the 
intellectual  nature.  No  man  can  serve  God,  and  do  evil :  he  may 
do  the  evil,  never  willingly  or  joyfully,  but  always  with  assur- 
ance that  he  ought  nut  to  have  done  it  and  that  God  rebukes  him 
in  a  thousand  ways.  We  cannot  rightly  receive  the  God  of  the 
Bible,  and  be  little,  mean,  uncharitable,  and  unworthy.  If  we 
can  find  persons  who  prol'ess  to  have  received  the  God  of  the 
Bible  and  are  yet  all  these  things,  then  their  profession  is  a  lie. 
"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  We  are  not  asking  for 
assent;  we  are  asking  for  faith.  It  is  one  thing  not  to  differ  from 
a  proposition,  and  another  to  live  upon  it  and  to  have  no  other 
means  of  mental  existence.  That  is  faith.  He  is  no  Christian 
who  simply  "does  not  dispute"  the  facts  of  Christian  history. 
Only  he  is  a  Christian  who  is  crucified  with  Christ,  as  it  were  on 


Jobxxxiii.,xxxiv.]     THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU.  349 

the  same  cross,  as  it  were  pierced  with  the  same  nails,  wounded 
with  the  same  spear.  That  is  Christianity.  We  debase  the 
whole  conception  if  we  suppose  that  a  man  is  a  Christian  because 
he  does  not  differ  from  the  New  Testament  in  any  energetic  or 
aggressive  way,  that  a  man  is  a  Christian  because  he  passes 
through  certain  forms  of  Christian  worship.  That  is  not  Chris- 
tianitj^at  all.  A  man  may  do  all  that,  and  a  thousand  times  more, 
yet  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  He  does  not 
receive  the  God  of  the  Bible  who  is  not  as  good  as  that  God, 
according  to  the  measure  of  his  capacity :  "  Be  ye  holy,  as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  holy."  No  man  can  receive  the  Christ  of  the 
gospels  who  is  not  dead  and  as  much  raised  again  as  was  that 
mighty  Son  of  God,  according  to  the  man's  measure  and  capacity. 
To  believe  in  God  we  must  be  one  with  God.  To  believe  in 
Christ  we  must  be  one  with  Christ.  When  we  are  so  identified 
we  shall  need  no  argument  in  words,  for  our  life  will  be  argu- 
ment, our  spirit  will  be  persuasive  and  convincing  eloquence. 


NOTE. 

In  his  second  speech  Elihu  returns  to  the  main  question  of  Job's  attitude 
towards  God.  He  begins  by  imputing  to  Job  laneuage  which  he  had  never 
used,  and  which,  from  its  extreme  irreverence,  Job  would  certainly  have 
disowned  (xxxiv.  5,  9),  and  maintains  that  God  never  acts  unjustly,  but 
rewards  every  man  according  to  his  deeds.  There  is  nothing  in  his  treat- 
ment of  this  theme  which  requires  comment.  .  .  .  The  subject  of  the  third 
speech  is  handled  with  more  originality.  Job  had  really  complained  that 
afflicted  persons  such  as  himself  appealed  to  God  in  vain  (xxiv.  12,  xxx.  20). 
Elihu  replies  to  this  (xxxv.  9-13),  that  such  persons  merely  cried  from 
physical  pain,  and  did  not  really  pray.  The  fourth  and  last  speech,  in  which 
he  dismisses  controversy  and  expresses  his  own  sublime  ideas  of  the 
Creator,  has  the  most  poetical  interest.  At  the  very  outset  the  solemnity 
of  his  language  prepares  the  reader  to  expect  something  great,  and  the 
expectation  is  not  altogether  disappointed.  "  God,"  he  says,  "  is  mighty, 
but  despiseth  not  any"  (xxxvi.  5) ;  he  has  given  proof  of  this  by  the  trials 
with  which  he  visits  his  servants  when  they  have  fallen  into  sin.  Might 
and  mercy  are  the  principal  attributes  of  God.  The  verses  in  which  Elihu 
applies  this  doctrine  to  Job's  case  are  ambiguous  and  perhaps  corrupt,  but 
it  appears  as  if  Elihu  regarded  Job  as  in  danger  of  missing  the  disciplinary 
object  of  his  sufferings.  It  is  in  the  second  part  of  his  speech  (xxxvi.  26- 
xxxvii.  24)  that  Elihu  displays  his  greatest  rhetorical  power ;  and  though  by 
no  means  equal  to  the  speeches  of  Jehovah,  which  it  appears  to  imitate, 
the  vividness  of  his  description  has  obtained  the  admiration  of  no  less 
competent  a  judge  than  Alexander  von  Humboldt.  The  moral  is  intended 
to  be  that,  instead  of  criticising  God,  Job  should  humble  himself  in  devout 
awe  at  the  combined  splendour  and  mystery  of  the  creation. — Rev.  Canon 

CH£YNX. 


Chapters  xxxv.-xxxvii. 

THE  SPEECH  OP  ELIHU. 

IV. 

ELIHU  says  many  beautiful  things.  There  is  some  difficul  y 
in  tracing  the  uniting  line  of  his  numerous  remarks,  but 
the  remarks  themselves  often  glitter  with  a  really  beautiful  light. 
Many  of  the  independent  sayings  are  like  single  jewels.  We 
need  not  always  look  for  the  thread  upon  which  the  pearls  are 
strung :  sometimes  it  is  enough  to  see  the  separate  pearls 
themselves,  to  admire,  to  value,  and  spiritually  to  appropriate 
all  their  helpful  suggestion.  Elihu's  speech  is  like  many  a 
sermon  :  we  may  not  be  able  to  follow  it  in  its  continuity,  and 
indeed  in  some  instances,  continuity  may  not  be  a  feature  of 
the  discourse ;  yet  what  riches  are  found  in  separate  sentences, 
in  asides,  in  allusions  whose  meaning  is  not  at  first  patent,  but 
which  grows  as  we  peruse  the  words  and  consider  the  argument. 
We  may  know  nothing  of  the  discourse  as  a  whole,  and  yet  we 
may  remember  short  sentences,  brief  references,  and  take  them 
away  as  lights  that  will  bless  us  in  many  a  dark  hour,  or  as 
birds  that  may  sing  to  us  when  all  human  voices  are  silent. 

Elihu  says  beautiful  things  about  God,  as  we  have  already 
seen.  He  loved  God.  Was  he  sometimes  too  eager  to  defend 
God  ?  Is  it  not  possible  for  us  to  excite  ourselves  much  too 
hotly  in  defending  the  eternal  Name  and  in  protecting  the 
everlasting  sanctuary?  Who  has  called  us  to  all  this  controversy, 
to  all  this  angry  hostility  even  against  the  foe  ?  What  if  it  had 
been  more  profitable  to  all  if  we  had  prayed  with  him  instead 
of  arguing ;  yea,  even  prayed  for  him  in  his  abserce ;  yea, 
higher  miracle  still — prayed  for  him  despite  his  sneering  and 
his  mocking.     Elihu  may  have  been  too  vtleii.cnl,  too  anxious 


Jobxxxv.-xxxvii.]     THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  351 

to  defend  God,  as  if  God  needed  him.  And  yet  that  can  hardly 
have  been  his  spirit,  for  one  of  the  very  first  things  to  which 
we  shall  now  call  attention  shows  Elihu's  conception  of  God 
to  be  one  of  absolute  independence  of  his  creature's.  Let  us 
see  whether  Elihu  was  right  or  wrong  in  this  conception. 

"  If  thou  sinnest,  what  doest  thou  against  him  ?  or  if  thy  transgressions 
be  multiplied,  what  doest  thou  unto  him  ?  If  thou  be  righteous,  what 
givest  thou  him  ?  or  what  receiveth  he  of  thine  hand  ?  "  (xxxv.  6,  7). 

This  is  true  of  God's  majesty,  but  it  is  not  true  of  God's 
fatherhood.  God  can  do  without  any  one  of  us,  and  yet  his 
heart  3'earns  if  the  very  youngest  of  us  be  not  at  home,  sitting 
at  the  table,  and  living  on  the  bounty  of  his  love.  It  is  perfectly 
right  to  say  what  Elihu  said :  "  If  thou  sinnest,  what  doest  thou 
against  him  ?  "  O  thou  puny  transgressor,  thou  dost  but  bruise 
thine  own  hand  when  thou  smitest  against  the  rocks  of  eternity  I 
"Or  if  thy  transgressions  be  multiplied,  what  doest  thou  unto 
him  ?  "  Can  thy  sin  tarnish  his  crown,  or  take  away  one  jewel 
from  his  diadem,  or  abate  the  storm  of  heaven's  music  that 
hails  him  eternal  King  ?  Consider,  poor  suflfering  patriarch :  if 
thou  be  righteous  even,  on  the  other  hand,  what  givest  thou 
him  ?  or  what  receiveth  he  of  thine  hand  ?  And  yet  that 
statement  is  imperfect :  it  creates  a  chasm  between  the  Creator 
and  the  creature ;  it  sets  God  away  at  a  great  distance  upon  an 
inaccessible  mountain,  and  clothes  him  with  glories  which  dazzle 
the  vision  that  would  look  upon  them.  From  one  side  of  the 
thought,  it  is  good,  it  is  glorious,  but  from  the  other  side  of  the 
thought  it  is  incomplete.  Elihu  speaks  of  the  dazzling  sun,  but 
does  he  not  forget  to  speak  of  the  tender  light  that  kisses  every 
pane  even  in  a  poor  man's  window,  and  comes  with  God's 
benediction  upon  every  flower  planted  by  a  child's  hand,  and 
watched  by  a  child's  love  ?  We  must  not  make  God  too 
imperious.  There  is  a  conception  of  God  which  represents  him 
as  keeping  men  at  the  staft-end,  allowing  them  to  approach  so 
far  but  not  one  step  bej^ond.  That  conception  could  be  vindi- 
cated up  to  a  given  point,  but  there  is  the  larger  conception 
which  says  :  We  have  boldness  of  access  now  ;  we  have  not  come 
unto  the  mount  that  might  be  touched,  and  that  burned  with 
fire ;  we   have   come   unto   mount   Sion,    where   with   reverent 


35a  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Job xxxv.-xxxviL 

familiarity  we  may  look  face  to  face  upon  God,  and  speak  to 
him,  as  a  man  speaketh  with  his  friend,  mouth  to  mouth,  and 
return  to  our  daily  employment  with  the  fragrance  of  heaven 
in  our  very  breath,  and  with  the  almightiness  of  God  as  the 
fountain  of  our  strength.  This  is  the  larger  view.  In  all  cases 
the  larger  view  is  the  right  view.  He  who  has  but  a  geo- 
graphical view  of  the  earth  knows  but  little  concerning  it;  as 
we  have  often  had  occasion  to  point  out,  the  astronomical  view 
involves  the  whole,  and  rules  by  infinite  energy  all  that  is 
apparently  unequal  and  discrepant  into  serenest  peace,  into 
completest  order.  It  is  possible  for  us  to  be  afraid  of  God : 
hence  many  minds  would  banish  the  thought  of  the  divine  love, 
saying.  It  is  too  high  for  us:  no  man  may  think  of  that  and 
live  :  enough  for  us  to  deal  with  minor  things :  inferior  concerns 
may  well  task  our  finite  powers  :  we  dare  not  lift  up  our  eyes 
unto  heaven :  God  is  great,  and  may  not  be  looked  for.  There 
was  a  time  when  that  view  might  be  historically  correct,  but 
Jesus  Christ  has  come  to  present  another  aspect  of  God,  to 
reveal  him  as  Father,  to  declare  his  nearness,  to  preach  his 
solicitude  for  the  children  of  men,  to  describe  him  as  so  loving 
the  world  as  to  die  for  it.  Let  us  repeat :  that  is  the  larger 
view,  and  until  we  have  received  it,  we  know  nothing  of  what 
riches  may  be  gathered  in  the  sanctuary,  and  what  triumphs 
may  be  won  by  the  spirit  of  the  Cross. 

Elihu  presents  the  same  thought  in  another  aspect ;  he  says 
that  man  may  do  many  things  against  God,  and  yet  not  injure 
him.  That  is  not  true.  Here  is  opened  to  us  a  wild  field  of 
practical  reflection.  We  cannot  injure  God  without  injuring  our- 
selves. If  we  transgress  against  him,  what  does  it  amount  to  ? 
Some  may  say.  Who  can  blacken  God's  whole  universe  by  any 
sin  he  may  commit  ?  What  can  Iscariot  himself  do  when  he 
attempts  to  stain  the  infinite  snow  of  the  divine  purity  ?  There 
is  also  a  sense  in  which  that  is  true.  God  is  not  dependent  upon 
us  :  our  prayers  do  not  make  him  what  he  is ;  our  sacrifices  do 
not  constitute  his  heaven  :  he  could  do  without  every  one  of  us ; 
he  could  pay  no  heed  to  any  action  committed  by  any  hand.  But 
this  is  not  the  God  of  the  Bible.  Such  a  God  is  possible  to  the 
licentious  imagination,  but  not  possible  to  any  one  who   has 


Jobxxxv.-xxxvii.]    THE  SPEECH  OF  EUHU.  353 

been  trained  in  the  Christian  school,  or  who  accepts  Christian 
standards  for  the  regulation  of  his  thought,  for  the  determination 
of  his  theology.  We  cannot  omit  a  duty  without  grieving  God; 
we  cannot  think  an  evil  thought  without  troubling  his  heavens. 
He  is  concerned  for  us.  Whilst  we  say  we  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being  in  God,  there  is  an  obvious  sense  in  which  he 
may  reply — I  live,  and  move,  and  have  my  being  in  man.  He 
watches  for  us,  longs  for  us,  sends  messages  to  us,  seems  to 
spend  his  eternity  in  thinking  about  us,  and  planning  our  whole 
life,  and  enriching  us  in  all  the  regions  and  departments  of  our 
existence  and  nature.  That  is  the  Christian  view.  Never  let 
the  idea  get  into  your  mind  that  God  cannot  be  interested  in  the. 
individual  man.  Once  let  that  conviction  seize  the  mind,  and 
despair  quickly  follows  :  you  have  not  adopted  a  sentiment ;  you 
have  given  it  the  key  of  your  heart ;  the  enemy  has  seized  it,  and 
he  says.  Let  that  thought  work  a  long  while — namely,  that  God 
does  not  care  for  the  individual,  that  his  universe  is  too  large  for 
him  to  pay  any  attention  to  details, — and  when  that  thought  has 
well  saturated  the  mind,  I  will  go  in  and  work  all  the  mystery 
of  damnation.  We  shall  keep  the  enemy  at  bay,  we  shall  affright 
him,  in  proportion  as  we  are  found  standing  hand  in  hand  with 
God,  saying  loudly  and  sweetly,  He  is  my  God,  and  will  not 
forsake  me :  he  loves  me  as  if  I  were  an  only  child ;  he  has  been 
pleased  to  make  me  essential  to  the  completeness  of  his  joy. 
Words  must  fail  when  attempting  to  depict  such  a  thought,  but 
they  help  us,  as  a  hint  may  help  a  man  who  is  in  difficulty. 
Beyond  this  we  must  not  force  words.  If  they  bring  us  to  feel 
that  God  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  head,  watches  the  falling 
sparrow,  takes  note  of  everything,  is  interested  in  our  pulse  that 
throbs  within  us,  it  is  helpful,  restful ;  meanwhile  it  is  sufficient ; 
preparation  has  been  made  for  larger  gifts,  for  fuller  disclosures 
of  divine  decree  and  purpose. 

Elihu  has  not  been  altogether  poetical  in  his  speech  to  Job  : 
but  we  incidentally  come  upon  an  expression  which  proves  that 
Elihu  even  could  be  poet  as  well  as  critic  and  accuser;  he 
says — 

"  But  none  saith,  Where  is  God  my  maker,  who  giveth  songs  in  the 
night  ?  "  (xxxv.  10.) 

VOL.   XI.  23 


354  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Jobxxxv.-xxxvii. 

Whatever  may  be  the  exact  critical  definition  of  the  phrase,  who 
can  fail  to  receive  it  as  throwing  an  explanatory  lustre  upon 
many  a  human  experience  ?  Consider  the  words  in  their  relation 
to  one  another.  First  look  at  them  separately — '*  songs  "  ;  then 
look  at  the  next  word,  "  night " ,  now  connect  them,  "  songs  in 
the  night," — apparently  songs  out  of  place,  songs  out  of  season, 
songs  that  have  gone  astray,  angels  that  have  lost  their  foothold 
in  heaven  and  have  fallen  down  into  wildernesses  and  valleys 
of  darkness.  Such  is  not  the  case.  "  Song  "  and  "  night  "  are 
words  which  seem  to  have  no  reciprocal  relation  :  but  human 
experience  is  larger  than  human  definitions,  and  it  is  true  to  the 
experience  of  mankind  that  whilst  there  has  been  a  night  the 
night  has  been  made  alive  with  music.  Who  will  deny  this? 
No  man  who  has  had  experience  of  life;  only  he  will  deny  it 
who  has  seen  life  in  one  aspect,  and  who  has  seen  so  little  of  life 
as  really  to  have  seen  none  of  it.  Life  is  not  a  flash,  a  transient 
phase,  a  cloud  that  comes  and  goes  without  leaving  any  impres- 
sion behind  it :  life  is  a  tragedy ;  Hfe  is  a  long,  complicated, 
changeful  experience, — now  joyous  to  ecstasy,  now  sad  to  despair ; 
now  a  great  harvest-field  rich  with  the  gold  of  wheat,  and  now 
a  great  sandy  desert  in  which  no  flower  can  be  found.  Taking 
life  through  and  through,  in  all  its  relations  and  inter-relations, 
how  many  men  can  testify  that  in  the  night  they  have  heard 
sweeter  music  than  they  ever  heard  in  the  day!  Do  not  the 
surroundings  sometimes  help  the  music  ?  Some  music  is  out  of 
place  at  midday  ;  we  must  wait  for  the  quiet  wood,  for  the  heart 
of  the  deep  plantation,  for  the  top  of  the  silent  hill,  for  the  place 
where  there  is  no  city  :  some  music  must  come  to  the  heart  in 
solitude — a  weird,  mystic,  tender  thing,  frightful  sometimes  as  a 
ghost,  yet  familiar  oftentimes  as  a  friend.  Who  has  not  seen 
more  of  God  at  the  graveside  than  he  ever  saw  elsewhere? 
Who  has  not  had  Scripture  interpreted  to  him  in  the  house  of 
death  which  was  never  interpreted  to  him  by  eloquent  Apollos 
or  by  reasoning  Paul  ?  and  who  has  not  had  occasion  to  go  back 
upon  his  life,  and  say,  It  was  good  for  me  that  I  was  afflicted :  now 
that  I  have  had  time  to  reflect,  I  see  that  all  the  while  God  was 
working  for  me,  secretly,  beneficently,  and  the  result  is  morning, 
beauty,  promise,  early  summer,  almost  heaven  1  But  here  we 
must  interpose  a  word  of  wise  caution.     Do  not  let  us  expect 


Jobxxxv.-xxxvii.]     THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  355 

songs  in  the  night  if  we  had  not  duty  and  sacrifice  in  the  day- 
time. God  does  not  throw  songs  away.  God  does  not  expend 
upon  us  what  we  ourselves  have  not  been  prepared  to  receive 
by  industry,  by  patient  suffering,  by  all-hopeful  endurance  f 
never  does  God  withhold  the  song  in  the  night  time  when  the 
day  has  been  devoted  to  him.  The  darkness  and  the  light  are 
both  alike  to  him.  If  we  sow  tares  in  one  part  of  the  day, 
we  shall  reap  them  in  the  other  part.  Sometimes  the  relation  is 
reversed  :  one  great,  sweet,  solemn  voice  has  said,  "  Weeping 
may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning  "  :  there 
we  seem  to  have  the  words  set  in  right  sequence— weeping  and 
night;  joy  and  morning.  What  a  balance  of  expression!  How 
exquisite  in  criticism  and  appropriateness  !  and  yet  Elihu  will 
have  it  the  other  way : — difficulty  in  the  daytime,  songs  in  the 
night ;  a  day  of  long  labour  and  sore  travail,  but  at  night  every 
star  a  gospel,  and  the  whole  arch  of  heaven  a  protection  and 
a  security.  This  may  be  poetry  to  some,  it  is  solemn  fact  to 
others.  Poetry  is  the  fact.  Poetry  is  truth  blossoming, — fact 
budding  into  broader  and  more  generous  life. 

Then  Elihu  presents  another  feature  of  the  divine  character, 
which  is  full  of  delightful  suggestion — 

"  Behold,  God  is  mighty,  and  despiseth  not  any :  he  is  mighty  in  strength 
and  wisdom  "  (xxxvi.  5). 

Consider  here  the  relation  of  terms  :  mighty,  yet  not  con- 
temptuous. This  gives  us  the  right  interpretation  of  the  very 
first  passage  which  we  quoted.  God  is  mighty,  yet  condescending; 
God  could  crush  us,  yet  he  spares  our  life  :  because  he  is  supremely 
mighty  he  is  compassionate.  Half-power  is  dangerous,  almost 
mighty  tempts  the  half-developed  giant  to  tyrannous  uses  of  his 
strength  :  but  whole  power,  almightiness,  omnipotence,  by  its 
very  perfectness,  can  speak,  can  compassionate,  can  fall  into  the 
words  of  pity  and  solicitude  and  love.  Thus  justice  becomes 
mercy ;  thus  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each  other ; 
thought  to  be  strangers,  they  have  hailed  one  another  as  friends 
and  brethren.  Then  the  very  omnipotence  of  God  may  be 
regarded  as  a  gospel  feature  and  as  a  gospel  support.  If  he 
were  less  powerful  he  would  be  less  pitiful.  It  is  because  he 
knows  all  that  strength  can  do  that  he  knows  how  little  it  can  do 


35^  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Job xxxv.-xxxvii. 

Strength  will  never  convert  the  world,  omnipotence  will  never 
subdue  creation,  in  the  sense  of  exciting  that  creation  to  trust 
and  worship,  honour  and  love.  What  will  overcome  the 
universe  of  sin  ?  Divine  condescension,  divine  compassion, — 
the  cross  of  Christ.  When  are  men  ruled  ?  When  they  are 
persuaded.  When  are  men  made  loyal  subjects  ?  When  they 
are  fascinated  by  the  king's  beauty,  and  delighted  with  the  king's 
compassion,  clemency,  and  grace.  For  what  king  will  man  die  ? 
For  the  king  who  rules  by  righteousness  and  who  is  the  subject 
of  his  own  people.  Thus  God  will  not  drive  us  into  his  kingdom. 
God  spreads  the  feast  and  gives  us  welcome ;  he  declares  gospels, 
he  offers  hospitality :  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come. 
And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that  is 
athirst  come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of 
life  freely ; "  and  again,  **  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock  ; 
if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in." 
So  says  he  who  by  a  breath  could  obliterate  the  universe.  He 
will  rule  by  love;  he  will  take  up  his  abode  where  he  is 
welcomed  by  the  broken  heart  and  the  contrite  spirit. 

A  sweet  word  Elihu  uses  again;  he  speaks  of  "the  bright 
light  which  is  in  the  clouds"  (xxxvii.  21).  This  is  a  sentence 
we  have  to  stand  side  by  side  with  "songs  in  the  night." 
Astronomical  meanings  there  may  be,  literal  criticism  may  take  out 
of  expressions  of  this  kind  all  that  is  nourishing  to  the  soul  and 
all  that  is  comforting  to  the  troubled  spirit;  yet  there  the  juice  of 
the  divine  grace  remains,  the  sap  of  the  holy  virtue  is  found,  and 
may  be  received  and  appropriated  by  hearts  that  are  in  a  fit 
condition.  Astronomy  shall  not  have  all  the  grandeur  and  all 
the  suggestion ;  the  heart  will  have  some  of  it.  The  heart  says, 
The  universe  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  universe,  and 
man  has  a  right  to  take  his  sickle  into  every  field,  and  reap  the 
bread  which  he  finds  growing  there,  for  wherever  there  is  bread 
it  was  meant  for  the  satisfaction  of  hunger.  "  Men  see  not  the 
bright  light  which  is  in  the  clouds," — the  silver  lining,  the  edge 
of  glory.  We  ought  to  reckon  up  our  mercies  as  well  as  talk  qf 
our  judgments :  "  My  song  shall  be  of  mercy  and  judgment  "— 
a  complete  song,  a  psalm  wanting  in  no  feature  of  sublimity  and 
tenderness     Suppose  we  sometimes  reverse  the  usual  process, 


Jobxxxv.-xxxvii.]     THE  SPEECH  OF  ELIHU,  357 

and  instead  of  writing  down  the  name  of  the  cloud  and  its  size 
and  density,  we  should  take  our  pen  and  with  a  glad  swift 
eagerness  write  down  the  lines  we  have  seen,  the  sudden 
gleamings,  the  bright  visions,  the  angel-forms,  the  messages  of 
love,  the  compensations,  the  advantages  of  life.  That  would  be 
but  grateful ;  that  would  be  but  just.  Is  there  any  life  that  has 
not  some  brightness  in  it  ?  How  true  it  is  that  though  in 
some  cases  the  light  is  all  gone,  yet,  even  amongst  little  outcast 
children,  see  what  laughter  there  is,  what  sunniness,  what  glee  I 
Who  has  not  seen  this  on  the  city  streets  ?  Looking  at  the  little 
wayfarers  we  should  say.  There  can  be  no  happiness  in  such 
lives ;  such  little  ones  can  never  know  what  it  is  to  laugh  ;  and 
lo,  whilst  we  are  musing  and  moralising,  how  they  lilt  and  sing 
and  show  signs  of  inextinguishable  gladness.  This  is  the 
mystery  of  life.  It  always  has  with  it  some  touch  of  heaven, 
some  throb  of  immortality,  some  sign  of  all-conquering  force. 
Here  it  is  that  the  gospel  will  get  its  hold  upon  men.  Begin 
with,  the  joys  they  have,  carry  them  forward  with  due  amplifica- 
tion, and  purify  them  until  they  turn  into  a  reasonable  and 
religious  gladness.  Seize  the  facts  of  life,  and  reason  from  them 
up  into  pious  generalisations,  rational  religious  conclusions,  and 
force  men  by  the  very  strenuousness  of  your  argument  to  see 
that  they  have  had  seeds  enough,  but  have  never  planted  them ; 
otherwise  even  their  lives  would  have  been  blooming,  blossoming, 
fruitful  as  the  garden  of  God. 


Job  zxxvii.  23,  24. 

"  Touching  the  Almighty,  we  cannot  find  him  out :  he  is  excellent  in  power, 
and  in  judgment,  and  in  plenty  of  justice :  he  will  not  afflict.  Men  do  there- 
fore fear  him ;  he  respecteth  not  any  that  are  wise  of  heart." 

THE  KNOWN  AND  THE  UNKNOWN. 

IT  is  well  that  there  should  be  an  immeasurable  and  unknown 
quantity  in  life  and  in  creation.  Even  the  Unknown  has  its 
purposes  to  serve  :  rightly  received,  it  will  heighten  veneration  ; 
it  will  reprove  unholy  ambition ;  it  will  teach  man  somewhat  of 
what  he  is,  of  what  he  can  do  and  can  not  do,  and  therefore  may 
save  him  from  the  wasteful  expenditure  of  a  good  deal  of  energy. 

"  Touching  the  Almighty,  we  cannot  find  him  out."  All  space 
leads  up  to  the  Infinite.  There  comes  a  time  when  men  can 
measure  no  longer ;  they  throw  down  their  instrument,  and  say, 
This  is  useless :  we  are  but  adding  cipher  to  cipher,  and  we  can 
proceed  no  further :  Space  has  run  up  into  Infinity,  and  infinity 
cannot  be  measured.  Nearly  all  the  words,  the  greater  words, 
that  we  use  in  our  thinking  and  converse,  run  up  into  religious 
greatness.  Take  the  word  Time.  We  reckon  time  in  minutes 
and  hours,  in  days  and  weeks  and  months  and  years  and 
centuries,  and  we  have  gone  so  far  as  to  speak  of  millenniums ; 
but  we  soon  tire ;  arithmetic  can  only  help  us  to  a  certain  point. 
Here  again  we  draw  up  the  measuring  line  or  calculating 
standard,  and  we  say,  It  is  useless,  for  Time  has  passed  into 
Eternity.  These  are  facts  in  philosophy  and  in  science,  in 
nature  and  in  experience, — Space  rising  into  Infinity ;  Time 
ascending  into  Eternity  :  the  foot  of  the  ladder  is  upon  earth,  but 
the  head  of  the  ladder  is  lost  in  infinite  distance.  Take  the  word 
Love.  To  what  uses  we  put  it !  We  call  it  by  tuneful  names  : 
it  charms  us,  it  dissipates  our  solitude,  it  creates  for  us  companion- 
ship, interchange  of  thought,  reciprocation  of  trust,  so  that  one 


Joblxxxvii.  23, 24.]    THE  KNO  WN  AND  UNKNO  WN,        359 

life  helps  another,  completing  it  in  a  thousand  ways,  great  or 
small.  But  there  comes  a  point  even  in  love  where  contem- 
plation can  go  no  further ;  there  it  rests — yea,  there  it  expires,  for 
Love  has  passed  into  Sacrifice ;  it  has  gone  up  by  way  of  the 
Cross.  Always  in  some  minor  degree  there  has  been  a  touch  of 
sacrifice  in  every  form  of  love,  but  all  these  minor  ways  have 
culminated  in  the  last  tragedy,  the  final  crucifixion,  and  Love 
has  died  for  its  object.  So  Space  has  gone  into  Infinity,  Time 
into  Eternity,  Love  into  Sacrifice.  Now  take  the  word  Man. 
Does  it  terminate  in  itself — is  the  term  Man  all  we  know  of 
being  ?  We  have  spoken  of  spirit,  angel,  archangel ;  rationally 
or  poetically  or  by  inspiration,  we  have  thought  of  seraphim  and 
cherubim,  mighty  winged  ones,  who  burn  and  sing  before  the 
eternal  throne,  and  still  we  have  felt  that  there  was  something 
remaining  beyond,  and  man  is  ennobled,  glorified,  until  he  passes 
into  the  completing  term — God.  They,  therefore,  are  superficial 
and  foolish  who  speak  of  Space,  Time,  Love,  Man,  as  if  these 
were  self-completing  terms  :  they  are  but  the  beginnings  of  the 
real  thought,  little  vanishing  signs,  disappearing  when  the  real 
thing  signified  comes  into  view,  falling  before  it  into  harmonious 
and  acceptable  preparation  and  homage.  So  then,  Faith  may  be 
but  the  next  thing  after  Reason.  It  may  be  difficult  to  distinguish 
som.etimes  as  to  where  Reason  stops  and  Faith  begins  :  but  Faith 
has  risen  before  it,  round  about  it ;  Faith  is  indebted  to  Reason  ; 
without  reason  there  could  have  been  no  faith.  Why  not,  there- 
fore, put  Reason  down  amongst  the  terms,  and  so  complete  for 
the  present  our  category,  and  say,  Space,  Time,  Love,  Man, 
Reason — for  there  comes  a  point  in  the  ascent  of  Reason  where 
Reason  itself  tires,  and  says.  May  I  have  wings  now  ?  I  can 
walk  no  longer,  I  can  run  no  more;  and  yet  how  much  there  is 
to  be  conquered,  compassed,  seized,  and  enjoyed !  and  when 
Reason  so  prays,  what  if  Reason  be  transfigured  into  Faith,  and 
if  we  almost  see  the  holy  image  rising  to  become  more  like  the 
Creator,  and  to  dwell  more  closely  and  lovingly  in  his  presence  ? 
All  the  great  religious  terms,  then,  have  what  rnay  be  called  roots 
upon  the  earth,  the  sublime  words  from  which  men  ofteh  fall 
back  in  almost  ignorant  homage  amounting  to  superstition. 
Begin  upon  the  earth ;  begin  amongst  ourselves ;  take  up  our 
worcis  and  show  their  real  meaning,  and  give  a  hint  of  their  final 


36o  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Job xxxvii.  23, 24. 

issue.  He  who  lives  so,  will  have  no  want  of  companionship ; 
the  mind  that  finds  in  all  these  human,  social  words,  alphabetical 
signs  of  great  religious  quantities  and  thoughts,  will  have  riches 
unsearchable,  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away.  Why  dwarf  our  words  ?  Why  deplete  them 
of  their  richer  and  more  vital  meanings  ?  Why  not  rather  follow 
them  in  an  ascending  course,  and  rejoice  in  their  expansion,  and 
in  their  riches  ?  The  religious  teacher  is  called  upon  to  operate 
in  this  direction,  so  far  as  he  can  influence  the  minds  of  his 
hearers ;  it  is  not  his  to  take  out  of  words  all  their  best  significa- 
tions, but  rather  to  charge  every  human  term  with  some  greater 
thought,  to  find  in  every  word  a  seed,  in  every  seed  a  harvest,  it 
may  be  of  wheat,  it  may  be  of  other  food,  but  always  meant  for 
the  satisfaction  and  strengthening  of  our  noblest  nature. 

Our  relation,  then,  to  God  is  strikingly  set  forth  by  this  speech 
of  Elihu.  "  We  cannot  find  him  out."  It  is  something  to  know 
when  the  word  "cannot"  is  to  be  introduced  into  human  speech. 
That  also  is  a  most  useful  word.  It  chafes  us ;  we  feel  that  it 
encages  our  life :  but  why  need  it  do  so  ?  There  is  a  way  of 
accepting  even  a  "cannot"  that  shall  ennoble  our  best  thinking, 
that  shall  chasten  all  our  feeling  and  passion,  and  shall  excite  in 
us  hopes  not  now  to  be  realised,  because  the  space  is  too  small, 
and  the  time  too  short,  and  the  hour  of  liberation  has  not  yet 
come.  It  is  something  to  know  where  we  have  to  stop  for  the 
moment ;  time  is  saved,  moral  disappointment  is  avoided,  energy 
is  turned  upon  real  practical  immediate  duty,  so  that  instead 
of  spending  life  in  vain  aspiration  we  spend  it  in  beneficent 
service,  not  the  less  beneficent  and  large  because  it  is  animated 
by  a  sure  hope  and  confidence  that  by-and-by  even  the  horizon 
Sihall  recede,  even  heaven  shall  be  heightened,  and  all  we  know 
now  of  time  and  space  shall  be  completed  in  eternity  and  in 
infinity.  What  we  do  know  of  God  in  the  first  instance,  we  know 
as  Elihu  knew  it,  through  nature,  experience,  history.  We 
cannot  consent  that  these  terms  shall  be  limited  by  themselves 
as  narrowly  interpreted :  they  shall  stand  for  greater  quantities  ; 
even  such  words  shall  be  as  little  gates  opening  upon  mfinite 
s^paces.  We  may  know  a  good  deal  by  looking  at  what  are  called 
phenomena.      Even  phenomena   are   not   intended   to   be   self- 


Jobxxxvii.23,24.]    THE  KNOWN  AND  UNKNOWN,        361 

terminating;  they  are  meant  to  be  suggestive,  indicative,  sig- 
nificant ;  rightly  accepted,  they  lure  us  to  further  distances,  and 
promise  us  great  results  to  our  religious  attention.  Take  a  house, 
and  let  me  describe  it  to  you  with  a  view  of  your  telling  me  what 
the  builder  or  tenant  or  owner  must  be.  The  house  is  com- 
modious, built  of  polished  stone,  enriched  here  and  there  and 
in  many  places  with  marble  of  the  finest  quality,  on  which  has 
been  expended  the  most  minute  and  skilful  workmanship  :  the 
garden  is  large,  filled  with  choicest  plants  and  flowers,  and  things 
of  beauty  :  now  and  again  I  hear  from  the  open  windows  strains 
of  music  and  gladness  and  sacred  festivity ;  all  the  tones  are 
solemn,  majestic ;  now  and  then  indeed  I  hear  sounds  of  children's 
voices,  but  all  blend  so  as  to  impress  me  with  a  sense  of  sacred- 
ness  or  solemnity  :  equipages  are  coming,  going,  and  great  men 
descend  and  return ;  and  behold,  oftentimes  through  the  gilded 
gates  I  see  poor  people  going  away  with  bread,  and  with  signs  of 
beneficent  attention.  Who  lives  there  ?  I  do  not  know ;  I  never 
saw  the  tenant.  Tell  me  what  he  must  be.  Who  can  hesitate  ? 
Though  you  never  saw  the  tenant  of  that  mansion  you  know 
a  good  deal  about  him,  from  what  you  have  seen  of  what  are 
called  phenomena,  or  appearances,  or  outside  hints.  Who, 
passing  the  house,  would  hesitate  to  say,  A  rich  man  lives  there; 
a  good  man  has  his  home  in  that  house ;  there  you  have 
abundance  of  wealth,  there  you  have  a  domestic  economy  that 
results  in  harmony  and  gladness ;  there  you  have  a  beneficent 
ruler,  one  who  cares  for  the  poor  and  the  sick  and  the  helpless  ? 
Did  you  ever  see  him  ?  No.  Do  you  know  his  name  ?  No. 
Then  how  can  you  predicate  such  things  about  him  ?  Because 
of  what  we  see ;  all  these  things,  of  course,  are  external,  and, 
therefore,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  attach  to  them  greater  signi- 
ficance than  belongs  to  appearances,  so-called  facts,  or  events; 
yet  we  cannot  look  upon  these  facts,  events,  occurrences,  be  they 
what  they  may,  without  feeling  that  no  small  creature  lives  there, 
no  man  of  limited  ideas,  but  a  man  who  would  make  others  as 
happy  as  himself,  a  man  of  resources,  who  enriches  himself  by 
enriching  others.  The  reasoning  would  not  be  unsound ;  it  would 
rather  seem  to  be  supported  by  facts.  The  man  who  took  that 
view  of  the  house  might  be  a  rationalist,  and  yet  have  no  occasion 
to  be  ashamed  of  the  designation.     Let  us  "  stand  still,'*  as  Elihu 


362  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.    [Jobxxxvii.23,24. 

said  in  another  passage,  "and  consider  the  wondrous  works  of 
God/'  and  say  from  the  contemplation  of  those  works,  even  so  far 
as  they  are  known  to  us,  what  God  must  be,  or  the  works  could 
not  be  what  they  are.  Verily,  the  house  is  large :  who  can  touch 
the  roof,  so  blue,  sun-lighted,  star-panelled  ?  Truly  the  garden 
is  ample,  beauteous,  fragrant;  all  the  world  seems  to  want  to 
be  a  garden  ;  the  flowers  would  grow  if  we  would  allow  them 
to  do  so  ;  the  music — thunder,  tempest,  storm,  strong  wind,  gentle 
breeze,  purling  brook,  roaring,  dashing  cataract — a  wondrous 
combination  of  sounds  !  And  happiness  ?  Verily,  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  sunshine  even  amongst  men  and  women  and 
children ;  yea,  merriment  and  dancing  and  laughter  and  gleeful 
singing.  Who  made  this  ?  I  do  not  know.  Who  owns  it  ?  I 
cannot  tell.  What  do  you  think  of  the  architect  ?  I  think  he  must 
be  great,  wise,  good.  Then,  say  you,  if  you  were  to  be  told  that 
his  name  is  "  Father,"  would  you  believe  it  ?  At  once  :  you  have 
made  a  revelation  to  me ;  that  is  the  word  :  I  will  go  round  the 
whole  place  again,  and  confirm  your  accuracy  by  the  facts  which 
are  patent  to  my  observation.  Then,  looking  again  at  the  high 
heaven,  at  the  radiant  horizon,  at  the  green  earth,  at  the  abundant 
summer,  at  the  hospitable  autumn,  I  return  and  say.  You  have 
given  the  right  name :  whoever  he  is,  "  Father  "  is  a  word  that 
suits  the  circumstances:  let  us  keep  to  that.  Then  you  con- 
tinue. Were  you  to  be  told  that  you  should  pray,  ''Our  Father 
which  art  in  heaven,"  would  you  ?  Instantly ;  reason  would  say 
so :  I  could  defend  myself  by  facts  ;  I  should  feel  that  I  was 
standing  upon  a  pedestal  of  rock,  lifted  up  so  high  that  I  could 
all  but  touch  the  great  holy  mystery.  Thus  the  Christian  thinks 
he  has  soHd  standing-ground;  he  has  not  given  up  reason  and 
handed  it  over  to  those  who  call  themselves  rationalists ;  if  any 
man  would  take  away  reason  from  the  Church  he  would  stop  him 
and  say.  That  is  one  of  the  golden  goblets  of  the  sanctuary ;  it 
must  not  be  stolen;  it  is  God's  property  and  must  be  left  in  his 
sanctuary.  Who,  then,  .would  hesitate,  judging  by  the  mere 
phenomena  or  circumstances,  to  describe  God  as  great,  wise 
good  ? 

"  He  is  excellent  ...  in  judgment."     Is  there  any  judgment 
displayed  in  the  distribution  of  things  ?     Is  the  globe  ill-made  ? 


Job  xxxvii.  23. 24.]     THE  KNO  WN  AND  UNKNO  WN.        363 

Are  all  things  in  chaos  ?  Is  there  anywhere  the  sign  of  a 
plummet-line,  a  measuring-tape  ?  Are  things  apportioned  as  if 
by  a  wise  administrator?  How  do  things  fit  one  another? 
Who  has  hesitated  to  say  that  the  economy  of  nature,  so  far  as 
we  know  it,  is  a  wondrous  economy  ?  Explain  it  as  men  may, 
we  all  come  to  a  common  conclusion,  that  there  is  a  marvellous 
fitness  of  things,  a  subtle  relation  and  inter-relation,  a  harmony 
quite  musical,  an  adaptation  which  though  it  could  never  have 
been  invented  by  our  reason,  instantly  secures  the  sanction  of 
our  understanding  as  being  good,  fit,  and  wholly  wise. 

"  And  in  plenty  of  justice."  Now  Elihu  touches  the  moral 
chord.  It  is  most  noticeable  that  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
Bible  the  highest  revelations  are  sustained  by  the  strongest 
moral  appeals.  If  the  Bible  dealt  only  in  ecstatic  contempla- 
tions, in  religious  musings,  in  poetical  romances,  we  might  rank 
it  with  other  sacred  books,  and  pay  it  such  tribute  as  might  be 
due  to  fine  literary  inventiveness  and  expression ;  but  whatever 
there  may  be  in  the  Bible  supernatural,  transcendental,  mys- 
terious, there  is  also  judgment,  right,  justice  :  everywhere  evil 
is  burned  with  unquenchable  fire,  and  right  is  commended  and 
honoured  as  being  of  the  quality  of  God.  The  moral  discipline 
of  Christianity  sustains  its  highest  imaginings.  Let  there  be 
no  divorce  between  what  is  spiritual  in  Christianity  and  what 
is  ethical, — between  the  revelation  sublime  and  the  justice 
concrete,  social,  as  between  man  and  man;  let  the  student  keep 
within  his  purview  all  the  parts  and  elements  of  this  intricate 
revelation,  and  then  let  him  say  how  the  one  balances  the  other, 
and  what  co-operation  and  harmony  result  from  the  inter-rela- 
tion of  metaphysics,  spiritual  revelations,  high  imaginings,  and 
•simple  duty,  personal  sacrifice,  industry  as  of  stewardship,  of 
trusteeship.  This  is  the  view  which  Elihu  takes.  God  to 
him  was  "  excellent  in  power,  and  in  judgment,  and  in  plenty 
of  justice." 

"  He  will  not  afflict."  A  curious  expression  this,  and  differently 
rendered.  Some  render  it.  He  will  not  answer :  or,  He  will 
not  be  called  upon  to  answer  for  his  ways :  he  will  give  an 
account  of  himself  to  none;  there  is  a  point  beyond  which  ];e 


364  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,    [Job xxxvii. 23, 24. 

will  not  permit  approach.  Yet  the  words  as  they  stand  in  the 
Authorised  Version  are  supported  by  many  collateral  passages, 
and  therefore  may  be  taken  as  literal  in  this  instance.  He  will 
not  willingly  afflict :  he  is  no  tyrant ;  he  is  not  a  despot  who 
drinks  the  wine  of  blood,  and  thrives  on  the  miseries  of  his 
creation ;  when  he  chastens  it  is  that  he  may  purify  and  ennoble 
the  character,  and  bring  before  the  vision  of  man  lights  and 
promises  which  otherwise  would  escape  his  attention.  Affliction 
as  administered  by  God  is  good ;  sorrow  has  its  refining  and 
enriching  uses.  The  children  of  God  are  indeed  bowed  down, 
sorely  chastened,  visited  by  disappointments ;  oftentimes  they 
lay  their  weary  heads  upon  pillows  of  thorns.  Nowhere  is  that 
denied  in  the  Bible ;  everywhere  is  it  patent  in  our  own  open 
history;  and  yet  Christianity  has  so  wrought  within  us,  as  to 
its  very  spirit  and  purpose,  that  we  can  accept  affliction  as  a 
veiled  angel,  and  sorrow  as  one  of  God's  night-angels,  coming  to 
us  in  cloud  and  gloom,  and  yet  in  the  darkest  sevenfold  midnight 
of  loneliness  whispering  to  us  gospel  words,  and  singing  to  us 
in  tender  minor  tones  as  no  other  voice  ever  sang  to  the 
orphaned  heart.  Christians  can  say  this ;  Christians  do  say  this. 
They  say  it  not  the  less  distinctly  because  there  are  men  who 
mock  them.  They  must  take  one  of  two  courses :  they  must 
follow  out  their  own  impressions  and  realisations  of  spiritual 
mmistry  within  the  heart ;  or  they  must,  forsooth,  listen  to  men 
who  do  not  know  them,  and  allow  their  piety  to  be  sneered 
away,  and  their  deepest  spiritual  realisations  to  be  mocked  out 
of  them  or  carried  away  by  some  wind  of  fool's  laughter.  They 
have  made  up  their  minds  to  be  more  rational ;  they  have 
resolved  to  construe  the  events  of  their  own  experience  and  to 
accept  the  sacred  conclusion,  and  that  conclusion  is  that  God 
does  not  willingly  afflict  the  children  of  men,  that  the  rod  is  in 
a  Father's  hand,  that  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to 
be  joyous,  but  grievous :  nevertheless  afterward  it  worketh  out 
the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exer- 
cised thereby.  Believe  me,  they  are  not  to  be  laughed  out  of 
that  position.  They  are  reasonable  men,  men  of  great  sagacity, 
men  of  affairs,  men  who  can  deal  with  questions  of  state  and 
empire  ;  and  they,  coming  into  the  sanctuary — the  inmost,  sacred 
sanctuary — are  not  ashamed  to    pray.     This  is   the  strength   of 


Job  xxxvii.  23, 24.]    THE  KNO  WN  A  ND  UNKNO  WN,        365 

Christian  faith.  When  the  Christian  is  ashamed  of  his  Lord, 
the  argument  for  Christianity  is  practically,  and  temporarily 
at  least,  dead.  Why  do  we  not  speak  more  distinctly  as  to  the 
results  of  our  own  observation  and  experience  ?  Great  abstract 
truths  admit  of  being  accented  by  personal  testimony.  "  Come 
and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,"  said  one,  "and  I  will  declare 
what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul."  If  a  witness  will  confine 
himself  to  what  he  himself  has  known,  felt  and  handled  of  the 
word  of  life,  then  in  order  to  destroy  the  argument  you  must 
first  destroy  his  character. 

So,  then,  we  are  agnostics — "touching  the  Almighty,  we 
cannot  find  him  out."  But  we  are  agnostics  only  because  of  our 
limitation.  We  are  agnostics  about  all  things  beyond  a  given 
point.  Even  philosophers  say  that  they  are  agnostics  as  regards 
the  inner  elements  and  qualities  of  matter  itself.  So  let  it  be. 
But  being  agnostics  in  that  sense  and  under  that  definition,  we 
are  not  prevented  from  following  the  instinct  of  life,  and  inquiring 
into  Scriptural  revelation  through  the  medium  of  its  moral  dis- 
cipline ;  and  so  inquiring,  we  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
God  is,  and  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him ;  that 
God  is  Creator,  King,  Ruler,  Father,  Redeemer,  and  that  at  the 
last  good  will  triumph  over  evil,  and  the  Redeemer  shall  see  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied.  Ask  us  to  prove 
these  things  in  words,  and  you  ask  us  to  do  what  cannot  be  done 
by  such  feeble  instruments ;  but  beyond  words,  and  deeper  than 
words,  are  holy  instinct,  spiritual  convictions,  absolute  confidence 
int  he  processes  and  ministries  of  things  which  will  abide  when 
the  mocker  is  tired  of  sneering,  and  when  the  interrogator  is 
wearied  with  the  monotony  of  bis  own  questioning.  Let  us 
lovingly,  steadfastly,  through  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  worship  and 
trust  him,  who  has  been  pleased  to  make  himself  known  to  us 
by  the  gracious  and  tender  name  of  Father. 


Chapters  xxxviii.-xli. 

THE     THEOPHANY. 

\T  TE  have  now  come  to  the  portion  of  the  Book 
^  ^  of  Job  which  is  known  as  the  Theophany,  or 
Appearance^  that  is  to  say,  the  appearance  of  the  Divine 
Being.  Let  us  set  forth  the  sacred  speech  in  its  fulness 
and  unity  : — 

1.  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind  [a  voice 
without  a  form],  and  said, 

2.  Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge  ? 

3.  Gird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a  man ;  for  I  will  demand  of 
thee,  and  answer  thou  me. 

4.  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth 
[or  founded  the  earth]  ?  declare  if  thou  hast  understanding. 

5.  Who  hath  laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest?  or 
who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ?  [Intimating  absolute  order 
and  law.] 

6.  Whereupon  are  the  foundations  [not  the  same  word  as  in 
verse  four]  thereof  fastened  [or  sunk]  ?  or  who  laid  the  corner 
stone  thereof; 

7.  When  the  morning-stars  sang  together  [the  stars  preceded 
the  earth],  and  all  the  sons  of  God  [angels]  shouted  for  joy  ? 

8.  Or  who  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors,  when  it  brake  forth,  as 
if  it  had  issued  out  of  the  womb  ?  [The  ocean  is  personified  as 
a  new-born  giant.] 

9.  When  I  made  the  cloud  the  garment  thereof,  and  thick 
darkness  a  swaddling-band  for  it, 

10.  And  brake  up  for  it  my  decreed  place,  and  set  bars  and 
doors, 


Jobxxxviii.]  THE  THEOPHANY,  367 

11.  And  said,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further:  and 
here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed  ? 

12.  Hast  thou  commanded  the  morning  since  thy  days  [any  day 
in  thy  Httle  life]  ;  and  caused  the  day-spring  to  know  his  place ; 

13.  That  it  might  take  hold  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  that  the 
wicked  might  be  shaken  out  of  it  ?  [Note  the  material  and 
moral  effects  of  light]. 

14.  It  is  turned  as  clay  to  the  seal  [it  is  changed  as  seal-clay]  ; 
and  they  stand  as  a  garment  [all  things  stand  out  as  a  garment]. 

15.  And  from  the  wicked  their  light  is  withholden,  and  the 
high  arm  shall  be  broken. 

16.  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  springs  [weepings]  of  the  sea? 
or  hast  thou  walked  in  the  search  [vain  search]  of  the  depth  ? 

17.  Have  the  gates  of  death  been  opened  unto  thee?  or  hast 
thou  seen  the  doors  of  the  shadow  of  death  ? 

18.  Hast  thou  perceived  [comprehended]  the  breadth  of  the 
earth  ?  declare  if  thou  knowest  it  all. 

19.  Where  is  the  way  [the  land]  where  light  dwelleth?  and 
as  for  darkness,  where  is  the  place  thereof  ? 

20.  That  thou  shouldest  take  it  to  the  bound  thereof,  and  that 
thou  shouldest  know  the  paths  to  the  house  thereof  ? 

21.  Knowest  thou  it,  because  thou  wast  then  born  ?  or  because 
the  number  of  thy  days  is  great  ? 

22.  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  treasures  of  the  snow?  or  hast 
thou  seen  the  treasures  of  the  hail, 

23.  Which  I  have  reserved  against  the  time  of  trouble,  against 
the  day  of  battle  and  war  ? 

24.  By  what  way  is  the  light  parted,  which  scattereth  the  east 
wind  upon  the  earth  ?  [or,  doth  the  east  wind  scatter  itself  over 
the  earth  ?] 

25.  Who  hath  divided  a  watercourse  for  the  overflowing  of 
waters  [who  hath  riven  a  channel  for  the  torrent  of  waters],  or 
a  way  for  the  lightning  of  thunder  [of  voices]  ; 

26.  To  cause  it  to  rain  on  the  earth,  where  no  man  is;  on  the 
wilderness,  wherein  there  is  no  man  ; 

27.  To  satisfy  the  desolate  and  waste  ground;  and  to  cause 
the  bud  of  the  tender  herb  to  spring  forth  ? 

28.  Hath  the  rain  a  father  ?  or  who  hath  begotten  the  drops  of 
dew? 


368  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxviil 

29.  Out  of  whose  womb  came  the  ice  ?  and  the  hoary  frost  of 
heaven,  who  hath  gendered  it  ? 

30.  The  waters  are  hid  as  with  a  stone  [the  waters  are 
hardened  like  stone,  and  the  surface  of  the  deep  is  held  fast], 
and  the  face  of  the  deep  is  frozen. 

31.  Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influences  [fastenings]  of 
Pleiades  [a  heap  or  group],  or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion  [the  fool 
or  giant]  ? 

32.  Canst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  [some  say  the  Zodiac ; 
others,  Jupiter  or  Venus]  in  his  season  ?  or  canst  thou  guide 
Arcturus  with  his  sons  ? 

33.  Knowest  thou  the  ordinances  of  heaven  ?  canst  thou  set 
the  dominion  thereof  in  the  earth  ? 

34.  Canst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds,  that  abundance 
of  waters  may  cover  thee  ? 

35.  Canst  thou  send  lightnings,  that  they  may  go,  and  say  unto 
thee.  Here  we  are  ? 

36.  Who  hath  put  wisdom  [the  gift  of  discerning  causes]  in 
the  inward  'parts  [the  kidneys  are  regarded  in  Hebrew 
physiology  as  the  seat  of  instinctive  yearnings]  ?  or  who  hath 
given  understanding  to  the  heart? 

37.  Who  can  number  the  clouds  in  wisdom?  or  who  can  stay 
[cause  to  lie  down]  the  bottles  of  heaven. 

38.  When  the  dust  groweth  into  hardness  [when  the  dust  is 
molten  into  a  mass],  and  the  clods  cleave  fast  together  ? 

39.  Wilt  thou  hunt  the  prey  for  the  lion  [lioness]  ?  or  fill  the 
appetite  of  the  young  lions, 

40.  When  they  couch  in  their  dens,  and  abide  [sit]  in  the 
covert  to  lie  in  wait? 

41.  Who  provideth  for  the  raven  his  food?  when  his  young 
ones  cry  unto  God,  they  wander  for  lack  of  meat. 

Chapter  xxxix. 

1.  Knowest  [this  knowledge  includes  perception  into  causes] 
thou  the  time  when  the  wild  goats  [rock-climbers]  of  the  rock 
bring  forth  ?  or  canst  thou  mark  when  the  hinds  do  calve  ? 

2.  Canst  thou  number  the  months  that  they  fulfil?  or 
knowest  thou  the  time  when  they  bring  forth  ? 

3.  They  bow  themselves,  they  bring  forth  their  young  onea^ 


Jobxxxix.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  369 

they  cast  out  their  sorrows.     [Arab  poets  call  infants  and  young 
children  "  pangs."] 

4.  Their  young  ones  are  in  good  liking  [fatten],  they  grow  up 
with  corn ;  they  go  forth,  and  return  not  unto  them. 

5.  Who  hath  sent  out  the  wild  ass  free  [whose  speed  exceeds 
that  of  the  fastest  horse]  ?  or  who  hath  loosed  the  bands  of  the 
wild  ass  ? 

6.  Whose  house  I  have  made  the  wilderness,  and  the  barren 
land  his  dwellings  [salt  waste  which  wild  asses  lick  with  avidity], 

7.  He  scorneth  the  multitude  of  the  city,  neither  regard«th  he 
the  crying  of  the  driver  [task-master]. 

8.  The  range  of  the  mountains  is  his  pasture,  and  he  searcheth 
after  every  green  thing. 

9.  Will  the  unicorn  {rather^  a  well-known  species  of  gazelle] 
be  willing  to  serve  thee,  or  abide  by  thy  crib  ? 

10.  Canst  thou  bind  the  unicorn  with  his  band  in  the  furrow? 
or  will  he  harrow  the  valleys  after  thee  ? 

11.  Wilt  thou  trust  him,  because  his  strength  is  great?  or 
wilt  thou  leave  thy  labour  to  him  ? 

12.  Wilt  thou  believe  him,  that  he  will  bring  home  thy  seed, 
and  gather  it  into  thy  barn  ? 

13.  Gavest  thou  the  goodly  wings  unto  the  peacocks  [a  mis- 
translation] ?  or  wings  and  feathers  unto  the  ostrich  ? 

14.  Which  leaveth  [not  in  the  sense  of  forsaking,  but  in  the 
sense  of  committing]  her  eggs  in  the  earth,  and  warmeth  them  in 
dust, 

15.  And  forgetteth  that  the  foot  may  crush  them,  or  that  the 
wild  beast  may  break  them. 

16.  She  is  hardened  against  her  young  ones,  as  though  they 
were  not  her's :  her  labour  is  in  vain  without  fear; 

17.  Because  God  hath  deprived  her  of  wisdom,  neither  hath 
he  imparted  to  her  understanding. 

18.  What  time  she  lifteth  up  herself  on  high  [lashes  the  air], 
she  scorneth  the  horse  and  his  rider. 

19.  Hast  thou  given  the  horse  strength?  hast  thou  clothed 
his  neck  with  thunder?  [Suggesting  the  idea  of  vehement  and 
terrific  movement.] 

20.  Canst  thou  make  him  afraid  [spring]  as  a  grasshopper? 
The  glory  of  his  nostrils  is  terrible. 

VOL.   XI.  24 


370  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Jobxxxix. 

21.  He  paweth  in  the  valley  [he  diggeth  the  plain],  and  re- 
joiceth  in  his  strength  :  he  goeth  on  to  meet  the  armed  men. 

22.  He  mocketh  at  fear,  and  is  not  affrighted  :  neither  turneth 
he  back  from  the  sword. 

23.  The  quiver  rattleth  against  him,  the  glittering  spear  and 
the  shield. 

24.  He  swalloweth  the  ground  [the  space  which  separates  the 
armies]  with  fierceness  and  rage :  neither  believeth  he  that  it  is 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet. 

25.  He  saith  among  the  trumpets.  Ha,  ha;  and  he  smelleth  the 
battle  afar  off,  the  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting. 

26.  Doth  the  hawk  fly  by  thy  wisdom,  and  stretch  her  wings 
toward  the  south  ? 

27.  Doth  the  eagle  mount  up  at  thy  command,  and  make  her 
nest  on  high  ? 

28.  She  dwelleth  and  abideth  on  the  rock,  upon  the  crag  of  the 
rock,  and  the  strong  place. 

29.  From  thence  she  seeketh  the  prey,  and  her  eyes  behold 
afar  off. 

30.  Her  young  ones  also  suck  up  blood  :  and  where  the  slain 
are,  there  is  she. 

Chapter  xl. 

1.  Moreover  the  Lord  answered  Job,  and  said, 

2.  Shall  he  that  contendeth  with  the  Almighty  instruct  him  ? 
he  that  reproveth  God,  let  him  answer  it. 

3.  ^  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 

4.  Behold,  I  am  vile ;  what  shall  I  answer  thee  ?  I  will  lay 
mine  hand  upon  my  mouth. 

5.  Once  have  I  spoken ;  but  I  will  not  answer :  yea,  twice ; 
but  I  will  proceed  no  further. 

6.  ^  Then  answered  the  Lord  unto  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind, 
and  said, 

7.  Gird  up  thy  loins  now  like  a  man :  I  will  demand  of  thee, 
and  declare  thou  unto  me. 

8.  Wilt  thou  also  disannul  my  judgment  ?  wilt  thou  condemn 
me,  that  thou  mayest  be  righteous  ? 

9.  Hast  thou  an  arm  like  God  ?  or  canst  thou  thunder  with 
voice  like  him  ? 


Jobxl.]  THE  THEOPHANY, 


10.  Deck  thyself  now  with  majesty  and  excellency ;  and  array 
thyself  with  glory  and  beauty. 

11.  Cast  abroad  the  rage  of  thy  wrath  :  and  behold  every  one 
that  is  proud,  and  abase  him. 

1 2.  Look  on  every  one  that  is  proud,  and  bring  him  low ;  and 
tread  down  the  wicked  in  their  place. 

13.  Hide  them  in  the  dust  together ;  and  bind  their  faces  in 
secret. 

14.  Then  will  I  also  confess  unto  thee  that  thine  own  right 
hand  can  save  thee. 

15.  ^  Behold  now  behemoth  [the  hippopotamus],  which  1 
made  with  thee  ;  he  eateth  grass  [herbage]  as  an  ox. 

16.  Lo  now,  his  strength  [his  special  characteristic]  is  in  his 
loins,  and  his  force  is  in  the  navel  of  his  belly.  [Unlike  the  hip- 
popotamus, the  elephant  is  mostly  easily  wounded  in  the  belly.] 

17.  He  moveth  his  tail  like  a  cedar  [not  in  size  but  in  rigidity]  : 
the  sinews  of  his  stones  are  wrapped  together. 

18.  His  bones  are  as  strong  pieces  of  brass  [his  bones  are  as 
tubes  of  copper]  ;  his  bones  are  like  bars  of  iron. 

19.  He  is  the  chief  of  the  ways  [the  masterpiece]  of  God  :  he 
that  made  him  can  make  his  sword  to  approach  unto  him. 

20.  Surely  the  mountains  bring  him  forth  food,  where  all  the 
beasts  of  the  field  play.  ["  He  searches  the  rising  ground  near 
the  river  for  his  substance,  in  company  with  the  animals  of  the 
land."] 

21.  He  lieth  under  the  shady  trees  [the  lotus  trees],  in  the 
covert  of  the  reed,  and  fens. 

22.  The  shady  trees  cover  him  with  their  shadow ;  the 
willows  of  the  brook  compass  him  about. 

23.  Behold,  he  drinketh  up  a  river,  and  hasteth  not ;  he 
trusteth  that  he  can  draw  up  Jordan  into  his  mouth  [he  is  stead- 
fast if  the  Jordan  boast  upon  his  mouth]. 

24.  He  taketh  it  with  his  eyes  :  his  nose  pierceth  through 
snares. 

Chapter  xli. 

I.  Canst  thou  draw  out  leviathan  [crocodile]  with  an  hook  ? 
or  his  tongue  with  a  cord  which  thou  lettest  down  [sinkest  his 
tongue  in  a  noose]  ? 


37»  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [JobxlL 

2.  Canst  thou  put  an  hook  into  his  nose?  or  bore  his  jaw 
through  with  a  thorn  ? 

3.  Will  he  make  many  supplications  unto  thee  ?  will  he  speak 
soft  words  unto  thee  ? 

4.  Will  he  make  a  covenant  with  thee?  wilt  thou  take  him 
for  a  servant  for  ever  ?     [The  crocodile  can  be  partially  tamed.] 

5.  Wilt  thou  play  with  him  as  with  a  bird  ?  or  wilt  thou  bind 
him  for  thy  maidens  ? 

6.  Shall  the  companions  [Egyptian  fishermen  were  called 
Fellows  or  Companions]  make  a  banquet  [traffic]  of  him  ?  shall 
they  part  him  among  the  merchants  [Canaanites]  ? 

7.  Canst  thou  fill  his  skin  with  barbed  irons  ?  or  his  head 
with  fish  spears  ? 

8.  Lay  thine  hand  upon  him,  remember  the  battle,  do  no 
more. 

9.  Behold  the  hope  of  him  [the  hope  of  man  that  the  animal 
may  be  caught]  is  in  vain :  shall  not  one  be  cast  down  even  at 
the  sight  of  him  ? 

10.  None  is  so  fierce  that  dare  stir  him  up  :  who  then  is  able 
to  stand  before  me  ? 

11.  Who  hath  prevented  me  [made  me  a  debtor],  that  I 
should  repay  him  ?  whatsoever  is  under  the  whole  heaven  is 
mine. 

12.  I  will  not  conceal  his  parts,  nor  his  power,  nor  his  comely 
proportion. 

13.  Who  can  discover  the  face  of  his  garment  [who  can  lift 
up,  as  a  veil,  his  outside  covering]  ?  or  who  can  come  to  him 
with  his  double  bridle  [his  double  row  of  teeth]  ? 

14.  Who  can  open  the  doors  of  his  face  ?  his  teeth  are  terrible 
round  about  [round  about  his  teeth  is  terror]. 

15.  His  scales  are  his  pride  ["grand  is  the  channeling  of  his 
shield-like  scales  "],  shut  up  together  as  with  a  close  seal. 

16.  One  is  so  near  to  another,  that  no  air  can  come  between 
them. 

17.  They  are  joined  one  to  another,  they  stick  together,  that 
they  cannot  be  sundered. 

18.  By  his  neesings  a  light  doth  shine,  and  his  eyes  are  like 
the  eyelids  of  the  morning  [and  were  made  a  symbol  of  morning 
by  the  Egyptians], 


Jobxii.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  373 

19.  Out  of  his  mouth  go  burning  lamps,  and  sparks  of  fire 
leap  out. 

20.  Out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke,  as  out  of  a  seething  pot 
or  caldron. 

21.  His  breath  kindleth  coals,  and  a  flame  goeth  out  of  his 
mouth. 

22.  In  his  neck  remaineth  strength,  and  sorrow  is  turned 
into  joy  before  him. 

23.  The  flakes  of  his  flesh  [even  the  parts  of  most  animals 
which  are  loose  and  flabby]  are  joined  together :  they  are  firm 
in  themselves  ;  they  cannot  be  moved. 

24.  His  heart  is  as  firm  as  a  stone ;  yea,  as  hard  as  a  piece 
of  the  nether  millstone. 

25.  When  he  raiseth  up  himself  the  mighty  are  afraid :  by 
reason  of  breakings  they  purify  themselves  [lose  their  presence 
of  mind]. 

26.  The  sword  of  him  that  layeth  at  him  cannot  hold:  the 
spear,  the  dart,  nor  the  habergeon. 

27.  He  esteemeth  iron  as  straw,  and  brass  as  rotten  wood. 

28.  The  arrow  cannot  make  him  flee :  sling  stones  are  turned 
with  him  into  stubble. 

29.  Darts  [or  clubs]  are  counted  as  stubble:  he  laugheth  at 
the  shaking  of  a  spear. 

30.  Sharp  stones  are  under  him :  he  spreadeth  sharp  pointed 
things  upon  the  mire. 

31.  He  maketh  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot :  he  maketh  the 
sea  like  a  pot  of  ointment 

32.  He  maketh  a  path  to  shine  after  him;  one  would  think 
the  deep  to  be  hoary. 

33.  Upon  earth  there  is  not  his  like,  who  is  made  without 
fear. 

34.  He  [coldly]  beholdeth  all  high  things :  be  is  a  king  over 
all  the  children  of  pride  [all  beasts  of  prey]. 


Chapters  xxxviii.-xli. 

THE    THEOPHANY. 

I. 

LET  us  admit  that  the  Theophany  is  poetical ;  that  will  not 
hinder  our  deriving  from  it  lessons  that  are  supported 
by  reason  and  vividly  illustrated  by  facts.  As  an  incident, 
the  Theopany  is  before  us,  come  whence  it  may.  It  inquires 
concerning  great  realities,  which  realities  are  patent  to  our 
vision.  It  does  not  plunge  into  metaphysics  only,  or  rise  to 
things  transcendental ;  it  keeps  within  lines  which  are  more  or 
less  visible,  lines  which  in  many  cases  are  actually  tangible. 
Here,  then,  it  stands  as  a  fact,  to  be  perused  and  wisely 
considered. 

To  such  questions  there  ought  to  be  some  answer.  They  are 
a  hundred  thick  on  the  page.  If  we  cannot  answer  all  we  may 
answer  some.  God  has  not  spared  his  interrogatories.  There 
is  no  attempt  at  concealment.  He  points  to  the  door,  and  asks 
who  built  it,  and  how  to  get  into  it,  and  how  to  bring  from 
beyond  it  whatever  treasure  may  be  hidden  there.  It  is  a 
sublime  challenge  in  the  form  of  interrogation.  ^^ 

The  thing  to  be  noted  first  of  all,  is,  that  it  purports  to  be  the 
speech  of  God.  That  is  'a  bold  suggestion.  The  man  who  wrote 
the  first  verse  fixed  the  bound  of  his  own  task. 

"  Then   the   Lord   answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  and   said " 

(xxxviii.  i). 

It  was  a  daring  line  even  for  an  author  to  write.  He  proposed 
his  own  end,  and  by  that  end  he  shall  be  judged.  He  himself 
assigned  the  level  of  his  thought,  and  we  are  at  liberty  to 
watch  whether  he  keeps  upon  the  level,  or  falls  to  some  lower 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  375 

line.  A  wonderful  thing  to  have  injected  God  into  any  book  ! 
This  is  what  is  done  in  the  Bible,  "  In  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heaven  and  the  earth."  Whether  he  did  so  or  not,  some 
man  said  he  did.  That  thought  must  be  traced  to  its  genesis. 
It  is  easy  for  us  now,  amid  the  familiarity  of  religious  education, 
to  talk  of  God  doing  this  and  that,  and  accomplishing  great 
purposes,  and  consummating  stupendous  miracles.  We  were 
born  into  an  atmosphere  in  which  such  suggestions  and  inquiries 
are  native  and  familiar.  There  was  a  time  when  they  had  to 
be  invented — or  revealed.  Notice  that  God  is  supposed  to  have 
taken  part  in  the  colloquy.  Now  Job  will  be  satisfied.  He  has 
been  crying  out  for  God ;  he  has  been  telling  his  friends  again 
and  again  that  if  he  could  but  see  God  everything  would  be 
rectified  almost  instantaneously.  Job  has  been  mourning  like 
one  forsaken,  saying,  Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him  ! 
Oh  that  God  would  come  to  me,  and  prefer  his  accusation  against 
me  in  his  own  person  and  language  !  Now  the  aspiration  is 
answered  :  God  is  at  the  front.  Let  us  see  what  comes  of  the 
conflict 

Still  we  may  dwell  upon  the  sweet  and  sacred  thought  that 
God  is  taking  part  in  human  controversies,  inquiries,  and  studies 
of  every  depth  and  range.  He  is  a  friend  at  least  who  suggested 
that  God  has  something  to  say  to  me  when  all  time  is  night, 
w^hen  all  sensation  is  pain.  If  we  could  be  sure  that  One  takes 
part  in  human  conversation  if  only  by  way  of  cross-examination, 
it  would  be  something  to  know;  at  any  moment  he  might 
change  his  tone.  It  is  everything  to  feel  that  he  is  in  the 
conversation.  Whatever  point  he  may  occupy,  whatever  line 
of  reply  he  may  adopt,  to  have  him,  who  is  the  beginning  and 
the  ending,  in  the  intercourse,  is  to  have  at  least  a  possible 
opportunity  of  seeing  new  light,  and  feeling  a  new  touch  of 
power,  and  being  brought  into  more  vivid  and  sympathetic 
relations  with  things  profound  and  eternal.  Why  do  we  edge 
the  Almighty  out  of  life  by  describing  his  supposed  intervention 
as  the  suggestion  of  poetry  ?  What  is  this  poetry,  supposed  to 
be  so  mischievous  ?  Is  it  any  more  mischievous  than  a  sky  ? 
What  crimes  has  it  committed  ?  What  is  the  indictment  against 
poetry  ?     By  "  poetry "  we  are  not  to    understand  words    that 


376  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,       [Job  xxxviii -xH. 

meet  together  in  sound  and  rhyme,  but  the  highest  reason,  the 
sublimest  philosophy,  the  very  blossom  of  reason.  Men  suppose 
that  when  they  have  designated  a  saying  or  a  suggestion  as 
poetical,  they  have  put  it  out  of  court.  It  is  not  so.  A  fable 
may  be  the  highest  fact.  In  a  romance  you  may  find  the  soul  of 
the  truest  history;  there  may  not  be  a  solitary  literal  incident 
in  the  whole,  and  yet  the  effect  shall  be  atmospheric,  a  sense  of 
having  been  in  other  centuries  and  in  other  lands,  and  learned 
many  languages,  and  entered  into  masonry  with  things  hither 
unfamiliar.  Sometimes  we  must  use  wings.  Poetry  may  be 
as  the  wings  of  reason.  But  how  good  the  poetry  is  which 
suggests  that  God  is  a  listener  to  human  talk,  and  may  become 
a  party  to  human  conversation,  and  may  at  least  riddle  the 
darkness  of  our  confusion  by  the  darts  of  his  own  inquiries. 
Here  is  a  case  in  point  Does  he  ask  little  questions  ?  Are  they 
orivolous  interrogations  that  he  propounds?  Is  the  inquiry 
worthy  of  his  name,  even  though  that  name  be  poetical  ?  Is 
every  question  here  on  a  level  with  the  highest  thinking?  Judge 
the  Theophany  as  a  whole,  and  then  say  how  far  we  are  at 
liberty  to  excuse  ourselves  from  the  applications  of  its  argument 
on  the  trivial  ground  that  it  is  but  poetry. 

Who  can  read  all  these  questions  without  feeling  that  man 
came  very  late  into  the  field  of  creation  ?  No  deference  is  paid 
to  his  venerableness.  The  Lord  does  not  accost  him  as  a  thing 
of  ancient  time  as  compared  with  the  creation  of  which  he  is  a 
part.  Everything  was  here  before  man  came :  the  earth  was 
founded,  the  stars  shone,  the  seas  rolled  in  their  infinite  channels  ; 
the  Pleiades  were  sprinkled  on  the  blue  of  heaven,  and  the  band 
of  Orion  was  a  fact  before  poor  Job  was  born.  It  would  seem  as 
if  everything  had  been  done  that  could  have  been  done  by  way 
of  preparation  for  him  I  He  brought  nothing  with  him  into  this 
creation,  not  even  one  little  star,  or  one  tiny  flower,  or  one  singing 
bird  :  the  house  was  furnished  in  every  chamber  for  the  reception 
of  this  visitor.  This  is  scientific  according  to  the  science  of  the 
passing  time.  Has  any  one  invented  a  theory  that  man  came 
first,  and  furnished  his  own  house,  allotted  his  own  stars,  and 
supplied  the  face  of  the  earth  with  what  ornamentation  he 
required  ?    Is  there  anything  here  inconsistent  with  the  marvellous 


Jobxxxviii.-xlL]  THE  2HE0PHANY,  377 

doctrine  of  evolution  ?  Contrariwise,  is  not  everything  here 
indicative  of  germ,  and  progress,  and  unfolding,  and  preparation, 
as  if  at  any  moment  the  consummation  might  be  effected  and 
God's  purpose  revealed  in  the  entirety  of  its  pomp  and  benefi- 
cence ?  Man  is  here  spoken  of  as  having  just  come  into  the 
sphere  of  things,  and  not  having  yet  had  time  to  know  where  he 
is,  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  symbols  that  glitter  from  the  sky 
or  the  suggestions  that  enrich  the  earth.  A  challenge  like  this 
would  be  quite  inconsistent  with  a  recent  creation  of  the  universe. 
How  recent  that  creation  would  be  at  the  time  at  which  these 
inquiries  were  put !  Now  that  astronomy  has  made  us  familiar 
with  whole  rows  and  regiments  of  figures,  we  speak  of  six  or 
eight  or  ten  thousand  years  as  but  a  twinkling  of  the  eye, 
but  according  to  old  reckoning  how  young  would  creation  have 
been,  if  it  had  been  created  but  six  thousand  years  ago  when 
this  Theophany  was  written  some  three  or  four  thousand  years 
since  as  a  matter  of  literary  fact !  Take  off  three  or  four  thousand 
years  from  the  supposed  six,  and  then  all  the  questions  would  be 
inappropriate  and  absurd  as  applied  to  a  creation  hardly  finished. 
The  speech  seems  to  be  spoken  across  an  eternity.  So  that  we 
have  no  fear  of  evolutionary  figures  or  astronomical  calculations ; 
we  have  no  apprehension  arising  from  theories  of  growth,  involve- 
ment, evolvement  progress,  consummation;  on  the  contrary,  the 
whole  spirit  and  genius  of  the  Bible  would  seem  to  point  to  age, 
mystery,  immeasurableness,  unknowableness.  Everywhere  there 
is  written  upon  every  creation  of  God  Unfathomable.  The 
Theophany,  then,  is  worthy,  in  point  of  literary  conception  and 
grandeur  of  the  opening  line — '*  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out 
of  the  whirlwind." 

Not  only  does  man  come  late  into  the  field  of  creation,  but, 
viewed  individually,  how  soon  he  passes  away  I  "Man  dieth, 
and  wasteth  away:  yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost,  and  where 
is  he  ?  "  We  are  of  yesterday,  and  know  nothing.  The  bells 
that  announce  our  birth  would  seem  to  be  interrupted  by  the 
toll  of  the  knell  that  announces  our  decease.  Thus  God  has 
great  hold  upon  the  whole  race  by  the  hold  which  he  has  upon 
the  individual  man.  When  the  individual  man  enlarges  himself 
into  humanity,  and  speaks  of  the  whole  race,  the  speech  is  not 


37«  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.       Qob  xxxviii.-xli. 

without  nobleness ;  but  how  soon  the  speaker  is  humbled  when 
he  is  reminded  that  he  will  not  have  time  to  finish  his  own 
argument — that  long  before  he  can  reach  an  appropriate  perora- 
tion he  will  be  numbered  with  the  generations  that  are  dead. 
Thus  we  have  greatness  and  smallness,  abjectness  and  majesty, 
marvellously  associated  in  the  person  of  man.  God  seems  to 
have  taken  no  counsel  with  man  about  any  of  his  arrangements 
of  a  natural  kind.  Man  was  not  there  to  be  consulted.  Poor 
man  !  he  was  not  asked  where  the  Pleiades  should  hine ;  he 
was  not  invited  to  give  an  opinion  upon  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  sea ;  he  was  not  asked  how  the  rain  should  be  brought 
forth,  and  at  what  periods  it  should  descend  in  fertilising  baptism 
upon  the  thirsty  ground.  He  finds  everything  appointed,  fixed, 
settled.  Man  is  like  the  sea  in  so  far  as  there  seems  to  be  a 
boundary  which  he  may  not  pass — "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come, 
but  no  further,"  and  here  shall  thy  pursuit  become  prayer,  and 
thy  strength  assume  the  weakness  of  supplication.  Be  the  author 
of  the  Theophany  who  he  may,  be  he  profound  reasoner  or 
winged  and  ardent  poet,  he  keeps  his  level  well.  Let  us  be 
just  to  him,  even  if  we  approach  him  from  an  unbelieving  or  a 
sceptical  point  of  view.  The  palm  be  his  who  wins  it :  honour 
to  whom  honour  is  due.  The  man  who  dreamed  this  Theophany 
never  falls  into  a  nightmare ;  his  dream  keeps  on  the  wing  until 
it  alights  at  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 

Judged  in  relation  to  all  the  universe  which  has  been  described, 
how  inferior  is  the  position  which  man  occupies  in  creation  I 
some  of  the  questions  are  very  mocking  and  most  humbling: 
man  is  asked  if  he  can  fly ;  if  he  can  send  out  lightnings,  and 
cause  the  electricity  to  come  and  stand  at  his  side  and  say.  Here 
am  I.  He  is  put  down,  snubbed,  rebuked.  He  is  pointed  to  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  and  asked  what  he  can  do  with  them  :  can  he 
hire  the  unicorn  ?  "  Will  the  unicorn  be  willing  to  serve  thee, 
or  abide  by  thy  crib  ?  Canst  thou  bind  the  unicorn  with  his 
band  in  the  furrow  ?  or  will  he  harrow  the  valleys  after  thee  ? 
Wilt  thou  trust  him,  because  his  strength  is  great  ?  or  wilt 
thou  leave  thy  labour  to  him  ?  Wilt  thou  believe  him,  that  he 
will  bring  home  thy  seed,  and  gather  it  into  thy  barn?" — 
(xxxix.  5>-i2).     What  art  thou?    Gird  up  thy  loins  now  like 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY,  379 

a  man,  and  answer  these  questions.  "Canst  thou  draw  out 
leviathan  with  an  hook  ?  .  .  .  canst  thou  put  an  hook  into  his 
nose  ?  .  .  .  The  sword  of  him  that  layeth  at  him  cannot  hold  : 
the  spear,  the  dart,  nor  the  habergeon.  He  esteemeth  iron  as 
straw,  and  brass  as  rotten  wood.  The  arrow  cannot  make  him 
flee :  sling  stones  are  turned  with  him  into  stubble.  Darts  are 
counted  as  stubble  :  he  laugheth  at  the  shaking  of  a  spear.  Sharp 
stones  are  under  him  :  he  spreadeth  sharp  pointed  things  upon 
the  mire.  He  maketh  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot :  he  maketh 
the  sea  Hke  a  pot  of  ointment."  What  art  thou  ?  what  canst 
thou  do  ?  where  is  thy  strength  ?  Disclose  it.  And  as  for  thy 
wisdom,  what  is  the  measure  thereof?  Canst  thou  bring  forth 
Mazzaroth  in  his  season  ?  canst  thou  play  with  the  stars  ?  All 
these  questions  drive  man  back  into  his  appropriate  position. 
The  argument  would  seem  to  be.  Until  you  can  understand  these 
comparatively  inferior  matters,  let  other  subjects  alone :  if  you 
cannot  explain  the  ground  you  tread  upon,  the  probability  is  that 
you  will  not  be  able  to  explain  the  sky  you  gaze  upon :  if  you 
know  not  yourself,  how  can  you  know  God  ?  And  yet  let  us  not 
be  discouraged.  If  man  has  any  superiority  it  must  be  in  other 
directions.  How  great,  then,  must  those  directions  be,  how  sub- 
lime in  their  scope  and  energy  !  Is  man  altogether  overwhelmed 
by  these  inquiries  ?  In  a  certain  limited  way  he  is ;  but  does  he 
not  recover  his  breath,  and  return  and  say.  After  all,  I  am  crowned 
above  all  these  things  ?  He  does,  but  we  must  wait  until  he  has 
had  time  to  recover  his  breath  or  regain  his  composure.  The 
questions  come  upon  him  like  a  cataract  I  they  roar  upon  him 
from  all  points  of  the  compass  in  great  overwhelming  voices,  so 
that  he  is  deafened  and  stunned  and  thrown  down,  and  asks  for 
lime.  Presently  we  shall  see  that  man  is  greater  than  all  the 
stars  put  together,  and  that  although  he  cannot  search  the  past 
10  exhaustion  he  will  live  when  the  sun  himself  grows  dim  and 
nature  fades  away;  he  will  abide  in  the  secret  of  the  Almighty, 
long  as  eternal  ages  roll.  His  greatness  is  not  in  the  past  but  in 
the  future.  Hardly  a  star  in  the  blue  of  heaven  but  mocks  the 
1  ecentness  of  his  birthday :  but  he  says  that  he  will  live  when 
the  stars  shall  all  be  extinguished.  Greatness  does  not  lie  in  one 
direction.  Greatness  may  hardly  lie  at  all  in  the  past :  "  It  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be."     The  Christian  hope  is  that 


38o  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.       [Job  xxxviii.-xli 

when  Christ  appears  we  shall  be  like  him,  that  we  shall  see  him 
as  he  is.  We  are  not  to  be  great  as  antiquarians  but  great  as 
sons  of  GoA 

Here,  then,  is  our  opportunity :  shall  we  arise  and  avail  our- 
selves of  it  ?  the  mischief  is  lest  we  should  be  tempted  to  follow 
out  these  inquiries  in  the  Theophany  as  if  our  whole  interest  lay 
in  the  past.  Into  the  past  we  can  go  but  a  little  way.  Who  can 
tell  the  number  of  God's  works,  or  find  out  the  Almighty  unto 
perfection  ?  The  oldest  man  amongst  us  is  less  than  an  infant 
of  days  compared  even  with  some  gigantic  trees  that  have  been 
rooted  in  the  earth  for  a  thousand  years ;  they  stand  whilst  man 
perishes ;  yea,  they  throw  a  shadow  over  a  man's  grave,  and  still 
grow  on  as  if  time  meant  them  to  be  immortal.  Our  greatness, 
let  us  repeat,  does  not  relate  to  the  past,  or  to  the  past  only ;  our 
opportunity  is  to-morrow  the  great  morrow  of  eternity.  So  our 
song  is,  This  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  shall  put  on  immortality  :  death  shall  be  swallowed  up 
in  victory ;  saints  shall  mock  the  tomb.  How  do  we  feel  now  ? 
are  we  rebuked  ?  are  we  humbled  ?  The  answer  must  be  Yes, 
and  No  :  we  are  very  young  compared  with  the  creation  of  God, 
but  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  the  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  great  noise;  the  little  eternity  of  the  ages  shall  b'^' 
swallowed  up  and  forgotten,  and  all  the  eternity  of  God's  love 
and  fellowship  shall  open  as  in  ever-increasing  brightness.  How 
is  that  glory  to  be  attained  ?  Here  the  gospel  preacher  has  his 
distinctive  word  to  deliver.  "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast 
sent."  The  word  may  be  disputed,  but  there  it  is ;  the  word  may 
occasion  great  mental  anxiety,  but  it  abides  there — a  solemn  and 
noble  fact  in  the  book.  Why  should  it  aifright  us  ?  There  is 
music  in  that  gospel.  Hear  it  again.  "This  is  life  eternal."  A 
peculiar  quality  of  life  rather  than  a  mere  duration  of  life  : 
"  eternal "  does  not  only  point  to  unendingness  but  to  quality  of 
life — "  This  is  life  eternal,  to  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent."  The  mystery  is  a  mystery 
of  music ;  the  mystery  is  a  mystery  of  light :  there  is  no  confusion 
in  the  thought,  but  unsearchable  riches,  and  the  embarrassment 
is  that  of  wealth  not  of  poverty.     So  now  we  have  two  standards 


Jobxxxvm.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  381 

of  judgment :  the  one  the  great  outside  creation,  stars  and  seas, 
beasts  and  birds,  hidden  secrets  of  nature,  undiscovered  laws  of 
the  intricate  economy  of  the  universe ;  there  we  can  know  but 
little :  and  the  other  standard  of  judgment  is  the  Son  of  God,  of 
whom  it  is  said,  he  created  all  things,  was  before  all  things,  that 
in  him  all  things  consist,  that  he  is  Lord  of  all  the  stars,  even  of 
hosts ;  he  shaped  every  one  of  them,  flashed  its  light  into  the  eye 
of  every  planet  that  burns,  and  rules  them  all  with  majesty  as 
sublime  as  it  is  gracious.  The  Christian  gospel  says  that  he, 
"  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal 
with  God  :  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  : 
and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and 
became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,"  that  he 
might  give  us  eternal  life.  O  creation  I  great,  monotonous,  hard, 
austere  creation  I  we  perish  as  to  the  mere  matter  of  duration 
before  the  ages  which  measure  the  period  of  thine  existence,  but 
we  mock  thee,  laugh  at  thee,  despise  thee,  if  thou  dost  challenge 
us  with  a  view  to  the  future  :  the  past  is  thine,  take  it,  and  die 
in  luxuriating  upon  it;  the  future  is  ours,  and  being  in  Christ 
we  cannot  die.  This  is  our  rational  challenge,  as  well  as  our 
Christian  appeal  and  comfort 


NOTE. 

The  exact  amount  of  censure  due  to  Job  for  the  excesses  into  which  he  had 
been  betrayed,  and  to  his  three  opponents  for  their  harshness  and  want  of 
candour,  could  only  be  awarded  by  an  omniscient  Judge.  Hence  the 
necessity  for  the  Theophany — from  the  midst  of  the  storm  Jehovah  speaks. 
In  language  of  incomparable  grandeur  He  reproves  and  silences  the  murmurs 
of  Job.  God  does  not  condescend,  strictly  speaking,  to  argue  with  His 
creatures.  The  speculative  questions  discussed  in  the  colloquy  are  unnoticed, 
but  the  declaration  of  God's  absolute  power  is  illustrated  by  a  marvellously 
beautiful  and  comprehensive  survey  of  the  glory  of  creation,  and  His  all- 
embracing  Providence  by  reference  to  the  phenomena  of  the  animal  kingdom. 
He  who  would  argue  with  the  Lord  must  understand  at  least  the  objects  for 
which  instincts  so  strange  and  manifold  are  given  to  the  beings  far  below 
man  in  gifts  and  powers.  This  declaration  suffices  to  bring  Job  to  a  right 
mind  :  his  confesses  his  inability  to  comprehend,  and  therefore  to  answer 
his  Maker  (xl.  3,  4).  A  second  address  completes  the  work.  It  proves  that 
a  charge  of  injustice  against  God  involves  the  consequence  that  the  accuser 
is  more  competent  than  he  to  rule  the  universe.  He  should  then  be  able  to 
control,  to  punish,  to  reduce  all  creatures  to  order — but  he  cannot  even 
subdue  the  monsters  of  the  irrational  creation.  Baffled  by  leviathan  and 
oehemoth,  how  can  he  hold  the  reins  of  government,  how  contend  with  him 
who  made  and  rules  them  all  ? — Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 


Chapters  xxxviii.-xll. 
THE    THEOPHANY. 

II. 

HOW  far  is  it  possible  to  read  all  the  great  questions 
contained  in  the  Theophany  in  a  sympathetic  and  gentle 
tone  ?  May  we  not  be  wrong  in  supposing  that  all  the  questions 
were  put  as  with  the  whole  pomp  and  majesty  of  heaven  ?  Has 
not  the  Lord  a  still  small  voice  in  which  he  can  put  heart-search- 
ing questions  ?  Is  there  not  a  river  of  God,  the  streams  whereof 
shall  make  glad  his  city  ?  Is  that  river  a  great,  boiling,  foaming 
flood  ?  Perhaps  we  may  have  been  wrong  in  carrying  the  whirl- 
wind into  the  questions.  "  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of 
the  whirlwind," — but  it  is  not  said  that  the  Lord  answered  Job 
like  a  whirlwind  ;  even  out  of  that  tabernacle  of  storm  God  might 
speak  to  the  suffering  patriarch  in  an  accommodated  voice,  in  a 
whisper  suited  to  his  weakness.  Let  it  be  an  exercise  in  sacred 
rhetoric  to  read  the  questions  of  the  Theophany  sympathetically, 
to  whisper  them,  to  address  them  to  the  heart  aione.  Unless  we 
get  the  right  tone  in  reading  God's  Book,  we  shall  mar  all  its 
music,  and  we  shall  miss  all  its  gospel.  The  people  wondered 
at  the  gracious  words  which  proceeded  out  of  the  mouth  of  Jesus 
Christ;  and  the  tone  was  often  an  explanation  of  what  was 
spoken ;  there  was  something  in  the  Man's  way  of  stating  what 
he  had  to  say,  which  led  hearers,  otherwise  hostile,  to  admit — 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  It  seems,  indeed,  as  if  the 
questions  should  be  spoken  with  trumpets  and  thunders  and 
whirlwinds  a  thousand  in  number ;  and  yet  by  so  speaking  them 
we  should  not  reveal  the  majesty  of  God;  we  might  reveal  that 
majesty  still  more  vividly  and  persuasively  by  finding  a  way  of 
asking  the  questions  which  would  not  overpower  the  listener  or 
destroy  what  little  strength  he  had. 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY,  383 

God  does  not  hesitate  to  charge  upon  the  patriarch  and  all 
whom  he  represented  something  like  absolute  ignorance: — "Who 
shut  up  the  sea  with  doors,  when  it  brake  forth,  as  if  it  had 
issued  out  of  the  womb?  .  .  .  Hast  thou  entered  into  the 
treasures  of  the  snow  ?  or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasures  of  the 
hail?"  What  hast  thou  done?  What  hast  thou  seen?  We 
have  only  seen  outsides — what  are  called  phenomena  or  appear- 
ances, aspects  and  phases  of  things ;  but  what  is  below  ?  "  Hast 
thou  entered  into  the  treasures  of  the  snow?"  "Hast  thou 
entered  into  the  springs  of  the  sea  ?  "  Thou  hast  sailed  across 
the  sea,  but  hast  thou  ever  walked  through  its  depths  ?  Hast 
thou  not  rather  been  carried  as  by  some  mighty  nurse  from 
continent  to  continent,  rather  than  been  a  spectator  of  the  springs 
of  the  infinite  flood  ?  "  Hast  thou  walked  in  the  search  of  the 
depth  ?  "  The  word  "  search  "  is  full  of  meaning  \  it  signifies 
a  kind  of  quest  which  will  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  but  the 
origin,  the  actual  fountain  and  spring  and  beginning  of  things  : 
it  is  not  enough  to  see  the  water,  we  must  know  where  the  water 
comes  from ;  we  must  search  into  the  depth.  It  is  not  enough 
to  see  the  hail  that  falls,  we  want  to  see  the  house  out  of  which 
it  comes,  the  infinite  snow-house  in  which  God  has  laid  up  his 
treasures  of  cold.  May  we  not  see  the  treasures  of  the  hail  ?  We 
are  ever  kept  outside.  God  has  always  something  more  that 
we  have  not  seen.  "Canst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds, 
that  abundance  of  waters  may  cover  thee  ? "  Thus  we  are 
reminded  of  our  ignorance.  Yet  we  are  wise,  limitedly  wise ; 
we  are  quite  great  as  grubbers  after  phenomena ;  we  come  home 
every  night  laden  with  more  phenomena.  By  some  mysterious 
process  the  word  "  phenomena "  seems  to  satisfy  our  appetite 
because  it  fills  our  mouth.  But  what  are  these  phenomena  ? 
Have  we  found  out  everything  yet?  Let  the  most  learned 
men  answer,  and  they  will  say.  We  have  found  out  nothing 
as  it  really  is;  we  have  just  learned  enough  to  correct  the 
mistakes  of  yesterday,  and  enough  to  humble  us  in  view  of  to- 
morrow ;  we  are  waiting  for  another  revelation  or  discovery 
or  acquisition;  we  have  spent  one  century  in  obliterating 
the  misrecorded  phenomena  of  another.  This  is  admitted  by 
the  men  themselves.  They  demand  justice  at  the  hands  of 
the  Christian  teacher,  and  they  are  the  first  to  admit  that  they 


384  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,      [Job  xxxviii.-xli. 

know  nothing  in  its  reality,  in  its  interior  condition,  quality,  and 
meaning.  We  are  not  now  forcing  an  interpretation  upon  their 
words,  but  almost  literally  quoting  them.  What  is  it  that  you 
are  now  playing  with  ?  hand  it  to  me  :  what  is  the  name  of  it  ? 
A  flute.  Very  good  :  I  have  heard  it,  now  I  want  to  examine  it ! 
Open  it  for  me  I  Why  don't  you  open  it  ?  What  are  you  play- 
ing upon?  It  seems  to  be  a  grand,  many-voiced  instrument, — 
what  is  the  name  of  it?  You  answer  me,  It  is  an  organ.  Good  : 
I  like  it ;  it  touches  me  at  a  thousand  points,  and  makes  me  feel 
as  if  I  had  a  thousand  lives  :  now  open  it ;  show  me  the  music  : 
I  have  heard  it,  I  want  to  see  it.  You  decline ;  in  declining  you 
are  wise.  Who  destroys  the  instrument  through  which  the  music 
comes  ?  Who  would  cut  a  little  bird's  throat  to  find  out  the 
secret  of  its  trill  ?  Hast  thou  seen  the  treasures — searched  the 
depths — gone  into  the  interior  of  things  ?  Or  art  thou  laden  like 
a  diligent  gleaner  with  sheaves  of  phenomena,  which  thou  art 
going  to  store  in  thy  memory  to-day  for  the  purpose  of  casting 
them  out  to-morrow?  What  can  we  then  know  about  God,  if 
we  can  know  so  little  about  his  sea,  and  the  treasure-house  of  his 
hail,  and  the  sanctuary  of  his  thunder?  It  is  the  same  with 
religious  emotion  and  religious  conviction.  Take  your  emotion 
to  pieces.  You  decline  to  take  your  flute  to  pieces  ;  you  smile  at 
the  suggestion  that  you  should  open  every  part  of  the  organ  and 
show  me  the  singing  angels  that  are  closeted  in  the  good  prison : 
how  then  can  Intake  this  religious  emotion  to  pieces?  These 
deep  religious  convictions  resist  analysis;  when  we  approach 
them  analytically,  they  treat  us  as  murderers.  Men  who  exclaim 
against  vivisection,  and  often  justly,  surely  ought  to  be  propor- 
tionately indignant  with  the  men  who  would  take  souls,  so  to 
say,  fibre  from  fibre,  and  perform  upon  them  all  the  tricks  and 
cruelties  of  analysis.  Yet  the  universe  is  beautiful  and  profitable 
exceedingly.  Even  what  we  can  see  of  it  often  fills  our  eyes 
with  tears.  Who  has  not  been  melted  to  tears  by  the  beauty  of 
nature,  by  the  appealing  sunshine,  by  the  flower-gemmed  fields 
and  hills,  by  the  purling  streams  and  singing  birds,  and  all  the 
tender  economy  of  summer  ?  Men  have  sometimes  been 
graciously  forced  to  pray  because  things  were  so  comely,  beau- 
tiful, tender,  suggestive ;  they  could  not  be  wild-voiced  in  the 
presence  of  such  charms  ;  even  the  rudest  felt  a  new  tone  come 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  385 

into  his  voice  as  he  spake  about  the  mystic  loveliness.  Behind 
all  things  there  is  a  secret, — call  it  by  what  name  you  please  : 
some  have  called  it  secret ;  others  have  called  it  persistent  force  ; 
others  have  described  it  by  various  qualifications  of  energy ; 
others  again  have  said,  It  is  a  spirit  that  is  behind  things  ;  others 
have  whispered.  It  is  a  father.  But  that  there  is  something 
behind  appearances  is  a  general  belief  amongst  intelligent  men. 
When  one  of  the  greatest  of  our  teachers  compares  what  is  known 
to  a  piano  of  so  many  octaves,  he  only  numbers  the  octaves 
which  he  can  touch  :  who  can  tell  what  octaves  infinite  lie 
beyond  his  fingers?  Who  will  siay  that  any  one  man's  fingers 
can  touch  the  extremes  of  things  ?  Were  he  to  say  so,  we  should 
mock  him  as  he  extended  his  arms  to  show  us  what  a  little  span 
he  has.  Throughout  the  Theophany,  then,  God  is  not  afraid  to 
charge  men  with  absolute  ignorance  of  interior  realities  which 
may  be  spiritual  energies 

Not  only  is  man  ignorant,  he  is  powerless  *'  Canst  thou  bind 
the  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades?"  (xxxviii.  31).  Hark  how  he 
speaks  of  Pleiades  as  if  the  white  sapphires  were  but  a  handful, 
and  a  child  could  use  them  !  "  Or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion  ?  " 
Answer  me  I  "  Canst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his  season  ? 
or  canst  thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons  ?  Knowest  thou  the 
ordinances  of  heaven  ?  canst  thou  set  the  dpminion  thereof 
in  the  the  earth  ?  Canst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds, 
that  abundance  of  waters  may  cover  thee  ?  Canst  thou  send 
lightnings,  that  they  may  go,  and  say  unto  thee.  Here  we 
are  ?  "  (xxxviii.  32-35).  These  questions  admit  of  some*answer. 
Surely  we  should  be  able  to  give  some  reply  to  interrogatories 
of  this  kind.  Then  how  man's  power  is  mocked — "Will  the 
unicorn  be  willing  to  serve  thee,  or  abide  by  thy  crib  ?  "  Try 
him  ;  reason  with  him  ;  show  thyself  friendly  to  him  :  come,  thou 
art  learned  in  the  tricks  of  persuasion  and  all  the  conjuring  of 
rhetorical  argument,  try  thy  skill  upon  the  unicorn — "  canst  thou 
bind  the  unicorn  with  his  band  in  the  furrow?  or  will  he 
harrow  the  valleys  after  thee  ?  "  Make  some  use  of  him  ;  make 
a  domestic  of  him ;  make  a  slave  of  the  unicorn  :  or  trust  him ; 
put  confidence  in  him  ;  be  magnanimous  to  the  unicorn  :  *'  Wilt 
thou  trust  him,  because  his  strength  is  great  ?  or  wilt  thou  leave 

VOL.  XI.  25 


386  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.       [Job  xxxviii.-xli. 

thy  labour  to  him  ?  "  Surely  there  is  a  mocking  laugh  running 
through  all  these  particular  inquiries, — not  a  laugh  of  bitter 
mockery,  but  of  that  taunt  which  has  a  gracious  meaning,  and  by 
which  alone  God  can  sometimes  call  us  to  a  realization  of  our 
strength  which  is  in  very  deed  our  weakness.  Then  when  all 
the  questions  are  answered  so  far,  God  says,  "  Canst  thou  draw 
out  leviathan  with  an  hook  ?  or  his  tongue  with  a  cord  which 
thou  lettest  down  ?  "  Thou  art  very  able  and  yet  very  feeble : 
come,  let  us  see  what  thou  canst  do.  Thou  canst  beat  a  dog, — 
conciliate  a  unicorn ;  thou  canst  slay  an  ox,  and  stand  over  him 
like  a  butcher-conqueror, — call  the  eagle  back  from  heaven's  gate  ; 
demand  that  he  come ;  thou  art  a  man,  thunder  at  him  :  what  is 
the  result  ?  Thou  hast  numerous  trophies  and  proofs  of  thine 
ability, — now  put  a  thorn  through  the  nostrils  of  leviathan,  thrust 
a  spear  through  the  scales  of  the  crocodile.  Thou  canst  do  some- 
thing :  thou  canst  not  do  everything.  Do  not  understand,  therefore, 
that  weakness  is  power,  or  that  power  is  all  power;  draw 
boundaries,  lines,  limits,  and  within  these  assert  thy  manhood 
and  begin  thy  religion.  Truly  we  are  very  powerless.  Yet  in 
some  respects  we  are  influential  in  a  degree  which  warms  our 
vanity.  In  the  summer  of  1886  there  were  shocks  of  earthquake 
in  Charleston  and  in  various  other  American  cities.  Why  did 
the  people  not  speak  to  the  earthquake,  and  bid  it  be  quiet? 
Surely  they  might  have  done  that.  Many  of  them  were  rich 
planters ;  many  of  them  were  gifted  in  the  power  of  cursing  and 
swearing  and  defying  God.  Look  at  them  !  Another  shock,  and 
the  greatest  buildings  in  the  city  are  rent  and  dashed  to  the  dust. 
Hear  these  men — drunkards,  swearers,  blasphemers,  worldly 
men — begging  black  niggers  on  the  open  highway  to  pray  ! 
What  a  humiliation  was  theirs  1  Why  did  they  not  bind  the 
earthquake,  throw  a  bridle  upon  the  neck  of  the  infinite  beast, 
put  a  bit  in  his  mouth,  and  make  him  lie  down  and  be  still? 
See,  they  reel  to  and  fro  like  drunken  men  I  How  powerless  we 
are  I  And  in  these  hours  of  powerlessness  we  know  what  a 
man's  faith  is  worth.  It  is  in  such  crises  that  we  know  what 
your  intellectual  speculations  and  fine  metaphysical  flourishings 
come  to ;  it  is  then  that  we  put  our  finger  upon  the  pack  of  her 
mysteries,  and  say,  Why  don't  you  open  this  pack,  and  be  quiet 
and  comfortable  whilst  the  heart  is   being  shaken  at   its  very 


Jobxxxvm.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  387 

centre  ?  Not  a  metaphysician  but  would  part  with  all  the 
mysteries  he  ever  knew  if  he  could  only  be  saved  from  the  wolf 
that  is  two  feet  behind  him.  We  are  not  sure  that  any  metaphy- 
sician ever  lived  who  would  not  be  quite  willing  to  go  back  to 
school  again  as  an  ignorant  boy — if  the  earthquake  would  only 
give  over  I  Oh  it  rocks  the  town,  it  tears  the  mountains,  it  troubles 
the  sea — oh  would  it  but  be  quiet  I  We  would  give  money,  fame, 
learning,  and  begin  the  world  afresh  :  but  we  cannot  live  in  this 
misery.  When  you  see  men  boasting,  and  blaspheming  and 
scorning  the  Church,  and  pouring  contempt  upon  all  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion,  all  you  need  desire  by  way  of  testing  the  reality 
of  such  ebullition  and  madness  would  be  to  see  them  under 
the  influence  of  an  earthquake  :  they  would  beg  a  dog  to  pray  for 
them  if  they  thought  that  the  dog  had  any  influence  with  Heaven. 
Are  we  to  be  led  by  these  men  and  to  take  the  cue  of  our  life 
from  them,  and  to  say.  How  strong  they  are,  how  lofty  in  stature, 
how  broad  in  chest,  and  how  they  breathe  with  all  the  vigour  of 
superabounding  life :  they  shall  be  our  leaders,  and  not  your 
praying  men  in  the  Church  ?  Can  the  blind  lead  the  blind  ? 
they  shall  both  fall  into  the  ditch.  You  cannot  tell  what  a  man  is 
by  any  one  particular  hour  of  his  experience ;  you  must  see  him 
in  every  degree  of  the  circle  before  you  can  fully  estimate  the 
quality  which  marks  him  as  a  maa 

It  is  something  to  know  that  we  are  ignorant  and  that  we  are 
powerless.  Much  is  gained  by  knowing  the  limits  of  our  ability, 
and  the  limits  of  our  knowledge.  Let  a  man  keep  within  the 
boundary  of  his  strength,  and  he  will  be  powerful  for  good  :  let 
him  stretch  himself  one  little  inch  beyond  God's  appointment, 
and  he  will  be  not  only  impotent  but  contemptible.  Hitherto 
shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further :  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves 
and  strong  ambition  be  stayed.  "  The  Lord  reigneth."  We  are 
but  men ;  our  breath  is  in  our  nostrils.  We  cannot  see  through 
one  little  sheet  of  paper ;  the  tiniest  leaf  that  grows  in  the  field 
if  put  upon  our  eye  would  shut  out  the  sun.  Better  let  us  be 
quiet,  simple,  watchful,  humble,  patient,  receiving  the  divine 
revelation  as  the  divine  Giver  may  see  fit  to  disclose  it 

The  great  argument,  then,  is  this :  as  there  is  so  much  in 
nature  which  thou  hast  not  understood,  there  may  be  also  much 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.      [Job xxxviii.-xli. 

in  human  life  and  discipline  thou  hast  not  fully  comprehended. 
It  is  the. argument  of  analogy.  It  is  the  great  argument  of  the 
philosophical  bishop.  There  is  no  escape  from  it;  certainly 
none  within  the  limits  of  the  Theophany.  If  we  do  not  know 
the  interior  of  a  piece  of  wood,  how  can  we  know  the  interior 
of  a  thought  ?  If  we  cannot  pluck  a  flower,  and  keep  it,  how 
could  we  pluck  the  secret  of  God,  and  retain  it  as  our  own  ? 
Again  and  again  we  have  seen  that  to  pluck  a  flower  is  to  kill 
it.  However  tenderly  you  may  treat  it,  however  you  may 
feed  it  with  water,  protect  it  from  all  adverse  influences,  you 
have  plucked  the  flower,  and  you  have  killed  it.  Thou  shalt 
not  trespass  in  the  divine  province.  We  may  walk  through 
the  garden  of  God,  but  may  not  pluck  the  flowers  that  grow 
in  that  holy  paradise.  Things  are  not  made  valuable  to  us 
simply  by  holding  them  in  the  hand.  The  sun  would  be  no  sun 
if  we  could  inclose  him  within  our  own  habitation :  he  stands 
away  at  an  inaccessible  distance;  he  can  come  down  to  us, 
but  we  cannot  go  up  to  him.  O  thou  great  hospitable  sun, 
terrible  yet  genial,  distant  yet  quite  near,  thou  art  a  bright 
symbol  of  the  God  who  made  thee.  As  there  are  mysteries 
in  nature,  so  there  are  mysteries  in  hfe.  What  is  your  thought  ? 
Where  did  it  come  from  ?  How  did  your  ideas  originate  ? 
What  is  that  thing  you  call  your  soul  ?  Show  it ;  describe  it ; 
trace  its  length ;  name  its  relations ;  what  is  it  ?  Psychology 
has  its  holy  of  holies  as  well  as  theology.  Do  not  imagine 
that  all  the  mysteries  cluster  around  the  name  of  God.  We 
must,  then,  accept  the  mysteries  of  life  :  they  are  many  in 
number;  they  are  very  pressing  and  urgent,  and  often  embarrass- 
ing and  difficult;  but  they  belong  to  the  great  system  of  God's 
government.  Why  should  the  good  man  have  trouble  ?  Why 
should  the  atheist  have  a  golden  harvest?  Why  should  the 
blasphemer  prosper  and  the  suppliant  be  driven  away  as  if 
by  a  pursuing  and  judicial  wind  from  heaven  ?  "  My  feet  were 
almost  gone;  my  steps  had  well  nigh  slipped.  For  I  was 
envious  at  the  foolish,  when  I  saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked. 
For  there  are  no  bands  in  their  death :  but  their  strength  is  firm. 
They  are  not  in  trouble  as  other  men ;  neither  are  they  plaguea 
like  other  men.  Therefore  pride  compasseth  them  about  as 
a  chain ;  violence  covereth  them  as  a  garment."     Ah  me  I  my 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]  THE  THEOPHANY.  389 

soul,  wait  thou  patiently  upon  God.  The  mysteries  of  nature 
have  their  counterpart  in  the  mysteries  of  life.  But  remember, 
in  the  second  place,  that  as  all  in  nature  is  under  divine  control, 
so  is  all  in  human  Hfe.  There  is  a  wise  God  over  all,  blessed 
for  ever  more.  He  comes  down  to  us  as  a  father,  compassionate, 
tender,  watchful,  regarding  every  one  of  us  as  an  only  child, 
numbering  the  hairs  of  our  head ;  he  besets  us  behind  and 
before;  he  is  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  and  he  lays 
his  hand  upon  us.  We  know  it,  for  we  have  proved  it  in 
a  thousand  instances  :  our  whole  life  is  an  argument  in  proof 
of  the  existence,  government,  and  goodness  of  God.  *'  Oh 
rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  him."  The  day  is 
very  cloudy  and  the  night  is  full  of  weary  hours ;  the  chariot- 
wheels  of  time  and  the  soul's  trouble  roll  heavily ;  morning 
after  morning  comes  like  one  disappointment  upon  another. 
It  requires  a  God-wrought  faith,  a  very  miracle  of  trust,  to  wait 
and  not  complain. 

Is  man,  then,  but  a  part  of  an  economy ;  not  an  individual 
but  part  of  a  process ;  one  amongst  ten  thousand  other  things  ? 
Is  a  man  at  liberty  to  say — I  have  renounced  my  individuality ; 
I  fall  into  the  great  stream  and  current  of  what  is  called  history  ; 
I  have  declined  individual  responsibility,  and  identified  myself 
with  the  sum-total  of  things  ?  How  foolish  would  be  this  talk  I 
Let  us  test  that  for  one  moment.  Does  Society  recognise  the 
impersonal  creed  ?  We  must  bring  these  creeds  to  practical 
tests.  Suppose  Society  should  say  to  all  its  members  :  Individual 
responsibility  is  gone ;  we  are  part  and  parcel  of  a  stupendous 
economy,  and  we  must  just  take  our  lot  with  the  general 
movement :  it  is  in  vain  that  man  after  man  should  stand  up 
and  claim  individual  franchise  or  honour  or  influence  or 
responsibility.  Society  never  said  so,  and  yet  retained  its 
security  for  any  length  of  time.  Does  man  himself  recognise 
it  in  reference  to  his  daily  wants  ?  Does  he  say :  I  am  part  of 
a  general  system  of  things,  and  therefore  I  do  not  trouble  about 
what  I  should  eat  and  what  I  should  drink  and  wherewithal 
I  should  be  clothed  :  all  these  are  petty  questions,  minor  and 
frivolous  inquiries  and  concerns  ?  Does  man  ever  say  so  ? 
But   when   he  mounts  his  philosophic   steed,  then   he  becomes 


390  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.      [Job xxxviii.-xK. 

''part  of  a  general  economy,"  a  shadowy  gentleman,  an 
impalpable  nothing,  a  most  proud  humility.  The  doctrine  will 
not  bear  practical  tests.  Man  is  always  asserting  his  rights. 
Take  part  of  his  property  from  him,  and  you  will  destroy  his 
creed.  Occupy  the  seat  for  which  he  has  paid,  and  tell  him 
when  he  comes  to  claim  it  that  he  is  part  of  a  great  system 
of  things,  belongs  to  a  mysterious  and  impalpable  economy, 
and  say,  "  Why  so  hot,  my  little  sir  ?  Why  not  amalgamate 
yourself  with  the  universe?"  If  these  creeds  will  not  bear 
testing  in  the  marketplace  and  at  the  railway  station,  and  in 
all  the  wear  and  tear,  in  all  the  attrition  and  controversy,  of 
life,  they  are  vanity,  an  empty  wind.  The  Christian  doctrine 
is — Every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God  :  we 
shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  We  cannot 
abandon  our  individuality  socially,  why  should  we  abandon 
it  religiously  ?  We  could  not  live  by  giving  ourselves  away  into 
airy  nothingness,  then  how  can  we  live  the  better  and  nobler 
life  by  obliterating  our  personalit '  and  sinking  like  a  snowflake 
on  a  river? 

Here  let  us  rest.  God  has  spoken.  His  questions  have  been 
a  multitude;  they  may  have  been  thundered,  they  may  have 
been  whispered ;  now  and  then  they  may  have  risen  into  pomp 
and  majesty  and  augustness,  and  yet  now  and  then  they  may 
have  come  down  into  whisper  and  breathing  and  gentle  speech. 
God's  ministry  is  manifold.  There  is  no  monotony  in  the 
speech  of  God.  He  reveals  himself  to  us  as  we  are  able  to  bear 
it.  We  cannot  go  to  himself  directly;  we  can  go  to  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  he  hath  made  Lord  of  all  things.  We  hail 
thee,  Son  of  man,  Son  of  God,  and  we  do  our  own  convictions 
injustice  unless  we  hail  thee  as  God  the  Son,  and  crown  thee 
Lord  of  all. 


Chapters  xxxviii-xli. 
THE  THEOPHANY,  AS  A  WHOLE. 

WE  have  been  waiting  for  the  answer  of  God  to  the  trouble 
of  Job  and  to  the  tumult  occasioned  by  his  friends.  We 
became  weary  of  the  fray  of  words,  for  they  seemed  to  have  no 
legitimate  stopping-place,  and  to  bring  with  them  no  sufficient 
and  satisfactory  answer.  At  length  God  has  appeared,  and  we 
have  already  said  that  the  appearance  of  God  upon  the  scene 
is  itself  the  great  answer.  To  have  come  into  the  action  at 
all  is  to  have  revealed  a  condescension  and  a  complacency 
amounting  to  an  expression  of  profound  and  tender  solicitude 
in  regard  to  all  that  distressed  and  overwhelmed  the  life  of  the 
patriarch.  If  God  had  not  spoken,  his  presence  would  have 
been  an  answer.  To  be  assured  that  God  draws  nigh  at  any 
moment  to  troubled  human  life,  is  to  be  also  sure  that  he  will  see 
the  right  vindicated  :  he  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed  ;  he  will 
not  quench  the  smoking  flax ;  nor  will  he  allow  others  to  break 
and  to  quench  what  he  has  lovingly  taken  within  his  fatherly 
care.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  God  has  used  words,  and  there- 
fore we  are  entitled  to  read  them,  and  to  estimate  their  value, 
and  to  consider  their  whole  influence  upon  the  marvellous 
situation  which  occasioned  them.  This  is  not  the  answer  that 
we  expected.  If  we  had  been  challenged  to  provide  an  answer, 
our  imagination  would  have  taken  a  very  different  line  from  that 
which  God  adopted  in  his  reply  to  Job  and  his  comforters.  But 
who  are  we  that  we  should  have  imagined  any  answer  at  all  ? 
Better  that  we  should  have  sat  down  in  silence,  saying,  This  is  a 
trouble  which  puts  away  from  its  sacred  dignity  all  words  ever 
devised  or  used  by  man.  Let  man  keep  his  words  for  mean 
occasions ;  let  him  not  attempt  to  use  them  when  God's  hand  is 


392  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.      [Job xxxviii.-xli. 

laid  heavily  upon  one  of  his  creatures  :  then  silence  is  the  true 
eloquence,  mute  grief  is  the  wisest  sympathy. 

The  answer  overwhelms  our  expectations.  It  is  greater  than 
we  had  supposed  it  would  be.  We  were  not  aware  that  such  a 
sweep  of  thought  would  have  been  taken  by  the  great  Speaker 
and  the  divine  Healer.  Our  way  would  have  been  more  direct, 
in  some  respects  more  dramatic  :  we  would  have  seen  the  black 
enemy  lifted  in  mid-air,  and  blasted  by  the  lightning  he  had 
defied ;  we  might  have  imagined  him  slain  upon  the  altar  of  the 
universe,  and  cast  down  into  outer  and  eternal  darkness,  and 
Job  clothed  with  fine  linen  in  sight  of  earth  and  heaven,  and 
crowned  conqueror,  and  having  in  his  hand  a  palm  worthy  of  his 
patience.  Thus  our  little  expectations  are  always  turned  upside 
down ;  thus  our  little  wisdom  is  proved  by  its  littleness  to  be  but 
a  variety  of  ignorance:  so  does  God  make  all  occasions  great, 
and  show  how  wise  a  thing  it  would  be  on  our  part  to  refer  all 
matters  to  his  judgment,  and  not  to  take  them  within  the  limits 
of  our  own  twilight  and  confused  counsels.  At  the  last  it  will  be 
even  so ;  the  winding-up  will  be  so  contrary  to  our  expectations  : 
the  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  shall  be  first ;  and  men  shall 
come  from  the  east  and  the  west,  from  the  north  and  the  south, 
and  many  who  had  attempted  to  force  their  way  into  the  kingdom 
will  be  ordered  back  into  the  darkness  which  is  native  to  their 
corruption.  Let  us  learn  from  this  continual  rebuking  of  expecta- 
tion that  things  all  lie  within  God's  power  and  wisdom,  and  that 
he  will  dispose  them  graciously  and  permanently,  and  vindicate 
his  disposal  by  appeals  to  our  own  judgment  and  experience, 
in  a  larger  world,  where  there  is  light  enough  to  touch  the 
problems  of  the  past  at  every  point 

In  the  next  place,  this  is  a  terrible  use  to  make  of  nature. 
Who  could  have  thought  that  nature  would  be  so  used — forced, 
so  to  say,  into  religious  uses  of  the  largest  kind  ?  The  very 
stones  cry  out  in  hymns  of  praise  to  God ;  the  whole  heaven 
comes  to  vindicate  the  excellence  of  his  wisdom  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  power.  What  can  man  do  when  Nature  takes 
up  the  exposition  of  divine  purpose  and  decree?  Who  can  answer 
the  whirlwind  ?  Who  can  hold  his  breath  in  face  of  a  tempest 
that  leaps  down  from   the  clouds  and  makes  the   mountains 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]    THE  THEOPHANY,  AS  A  WHOLE,      393 

shake  by  its  tremendous  energy?  Who  could  look  up  when 
the  stars  put  on  all  their  light  and  blind  the  mortal  vision 
of  man  ?  We  are  made  afraid  when  we  come  into  a  realisa- 
tion of  this  particular  use  of  nature.  We  did  not  know  that 
God  had  so  many  ministers  who  could  speak  tor  him.  We 
had  been  dreaming  about  the  heavens,  and  wondering  about 
the  infinite  arch,  and  talking  about  the  beauty  of  the  things  that 
lay  round  about  us ;  we  had  called  the  earth  a  garden  of  God, 
and  thought  of  nature  as  a  comforting  mother  and  nurse :  yet 
now  when  the  occasion  needs  it  all  nature  stands  up  like  an 
army  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  strong,  and  takes  up  the 
cause  of  God  and  pleads  it  with  infinite  eloquence.  If  we  have 
to  be  rebuked  by  nature  in  this  way,  who  can  stand  for  one 
moment  ?  If  a  may  may  not  utter  a  complaint  lest  the  lightning 
blind  him,  who  then  dare  confess  that  he  has  a  sorrow  that 
gnaws  his  heart  ?  If  our  disobedience  is  to  be  reproved  by  the 
rhythmic  movement  of  the  obedient  stars,  then  who  would  care 
or  dare  to  live  ?  All  things  obey  the  Creator  but  man  :  "  the 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God " ;  night  unto  night  uttereth 
speech ;  there  is  no  disobedience  in  all  the  uproar  of  the  seas ; 
when  nature  is  shaken  she  is  not  rebellious  :  but  man — strange, 
poor,  weird,  ghostly  man — can  scarcely" open  his  mouth  without 
blasphemy,  or  look  without  insulting  the  heavens  he  gazes  at, 
or  think  without  planning  some  treason  against  the  eternal 
throne.  So  God  uses  this  great  machine;  so  God  hurls  at  us 
the  stars  that  shine  so  placidly,  and  make  the  night  so  fair.  Yet 
we  must  take  care  how  we  use  nature :  she  is  a  dainty  instru- 
ment; she  resents  some  of  the  approaches  we  make  when  we 
intend  to  use  her  for  illicit  or  base  or  unworthy  purposes.  We 
must  beware  how  we  press  nature  into  our  service.  We  must 
not  appropriate  nature  to  exclusive  uses  or  to  hint  at  the 
divisions  and  separations  of  men.  Nature  should  be  used 
otherwise.  Better  allow  the  great  Creator  to  say  how  nature 
may  be  employed  in  illustrating  religious  thought,  religious 
relations,  and  religious  action. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  use  which  is  made  of  nature  even 
by  the  Creator.  At  first  we  are  affrighted,  as  we  nearly  always 
are  in   the   Old   Testament,   but   when   the   Creator  speaks  of 


394  ^^^  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.      [Job  xxxviii.-xli. 

nature  in  the  New  Testament  he  adopts  quite  a  different  tone. 
There  is  One  of  whom  it  is  said,  He  made  all  things  :  he  is 
before  all  things  :  by  him  all  things  consist :  without  him  was 
not  anything  made  that  was  made.  It  will  be  instructive  to  hear 
him  speak  of  the  uses  of  nature.  Does  he  answer  his  hearers 
"out  of  the  whirlwind?"  Does  he  thunder  upon  them  from 
the  sanctuary  of  eternity?  Hear  him,  and  wonder  at  the 
gracious  words  which  proceed  out  of  his  mouth — Consider  the 
lilies  of  the  field  how  they  grow :  if  God  so  care  for  or  clothe 
the  grass  of  the  field,  will  he  not  much  more  care  for  and  clothe 
you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  Yet  it  would  be  unfair  to  the  Old 
Testament  if  we  did  not  point  out  that  even  there  the  gentler 
uses  of  nature  are  shown  by  the  very  Creator  himself  When 
Jacob  was  cast  down,  when  his  way  was  supposed  to  be  passed 
over,  when  all  hope  had  died  out  of  him,  and  every  glint  of  light 
had  vanished  from  his  sky,  God  said  to  him,  "  Lift  up  your  eyes 
on  high,  and  behold  who  hath  created  these  things," — the  same 
God,  the  same  nature;  a  weakened  and  discouraged  man,  yet 
nature  in  this  case  used  to  restore  and  comfort  the  soul  that  was 
overwhelmed.  Thus  God  must  use  his  armoury  as  he  pleases. 
He  can  plead  against  us  with  great  strength,  he  can  overwhelm 
us,  he  can  take  away  our  breath  by  a  whirlwind,  he  can  blind 
us  by  excess  of  light ;  or  he  can  so  show  the  galaxy  of  heaven, 
and  the  whole  panorama  of  the  visible  universe,  as  to  heal  us 
and  comfort  us,  and  lead  us  to  say,  He  who  keeps  these  lights 
in  their  places  will  not  quench  the  smoking  flax.  "Where  is 
there  a  healer  so  gentle  and  compassionate,  loving  and  sym- 
pathetic, as  nature?  Sometimes  she  seems  to  say  to  broken- 
hearted man,  I  was  made  for  you ;  you  never  knew  it  until  this 
hour:  now  I  will  heal  you,  and  lead  you  to  the  altar,  where 
you  thought  the  fire  had  died  out — the  altar  which  you  thought 
God  had  abandoned.  This  appeal  to  nature  is  the  higher  and 
truer  way  of  teaching.  It  brings  a  man  out  of  himself.  That 
is  the  first  great  conquest  to  be  achieved.  All  brooding  must 
be  broken  up ;  everything  of  the  nature  of  melancholy  or  fixing 
the  mind  upon  one  point,  or  dwelling  upon  one  series  of  events, 
must  be  invaded  and  dissipated.  God  would  take  a  man  for 
a  mountain  walk,  and  speak  with  him  as  they  climbed  the  hill 
together,  and  watch  him  as  the  fresh  wind  blew  upon  his  weary 


JobxjDa'iii.-xli.]    THE  THEOPHANY,  AS  A  WHOLE,      395 

life,  and  revived  him  as  with  physical  gospels ;  the  Lord  would 
take  a  man  far  out  into  the  mid-sea,  and  there  would  watch  the 
effect  of  healing  influences  which  he  himself  has  originated,  and 
which  he  never  fails  to  control:  the  man  would  be  interested 
in  new  sights ;  he  would  feel  himself  in  point  of  contact  with 
great  sweet  nature ;  without  knowing  it,  old  age  would  be  shed 
from  his  face,  and  he  would  ask  youthful  questions,  and  propose 
plans  involving  expenditure  of  hope  and  energy  and  confidence 
and  faith  of  every  degree  and  quality ;  and  he  who  went  out 
an  old,  bent-down,  helpless  man,  would  come  back  clothed  with 
youth,  having  undergone  a  process  almost  of  resurrection,  being 
brought  up  from  the  dead,  and  set  in  new  and  radiant  relation 
to  all  duty,  responsibility,  and  labour.     Here  is  the  benefit  of  the 
Church.     So  long  as    men  hide  themselves  in  solitude  they  do 
not  receive  the  advantage  and  helpfulness  of  social  and  Christian 
sympathy.     The  very  effort  of  coming  to   the   church  helps   a 
man  sometimes  to  throw  off  his  imprisonment  and  narrowness 
of  view.     There  is  something  in  the  human  touch,  in  the  human 
face  divine,  in  the  commingling  of  voices,  in  the  public  reading 
of  the  divine  word,  which  nerves  and  cheers  all  who  take  part 
in    the   sacred   exercise.      Solitude    soon    becomes    irreligious ; 
monasticism    tends    to    the    decay    of    all    faculties    that    were 
meant  to  be  social,  sympathetic,  reciprocal  :  *'  Forsake   not  the 
assembling    of    yourselves    together "  :    come    into    the    larger 
humanity,  behold  the  larger  creation,  and  thus  receive  healing 
and  comfort  and  benediction  from  enlargement  of  relation  and 
sympathy.     Never  allow  yourself  to  prey  upon  yourself     That 
act  of  self-consumption  means  everything  that  is  involved  in  the 
words  despair  and  ruin.     Force  yourselves  into  public  relations  ; 
so  to  say,  compel  yourselves  to  own  your  kith  and  kindred,  to 
take  part  in  family  life  and  in  that  larger  family  life  called  the 
intercourse  of  the  Church — in  public  worship,  in  public  service — 
and  also  know  that  God  has  made  all  nature  to  minister  unto 
your   soul's   health,    establish    a   large   intercourse  with    moun- 
tain and  river  and  sea,  with  forest  and  flower-bed,  and  singing 
birds,  and  all  things  great  and  lovely  :  some  day  you  will  need 
them,  and  they  will  be  God's  ministers  to  you. 

This  answer  is  a  sublime  rebuke  to  ^he  pride  which  Job  had 


396  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,      [Job  xxxviii.-xli. 

once  asserted  during  the  colloquies.  In  chapter  xiii.  22,  Job  said, 
in  quite  a  round  strong  voice,  indicative  of  energy  and  indepen- 
dence and  self-complacency,  "Then  call  thou,  and  I  will  answer: 
or  let  me  speak,  and  answer  thou  me."  That  tone  needed  to  be 
taken  out  of  his  voice.  Oftentimes  the  musical  teacher  says  to 
the  pupil.  Your  voice  must  be  altogether  broken  up,  and  you 
must  start  again  in  the  formation  of  a  voice ;  you  think  now  your 
voice  is  good  and  strong  and  useful,  but  you  are  mistaken ;  the 
first  thing  I  have  to  do  with  you  is  to  take  your  voice  away,  then 
begin  at  the  beginning  and  cultivate  it  into  an  appropriate  expres- 
sion. Job's  voice  was  out  of  order  when  he  said,  "  Call  thou, 
and  I  will  answer," — or,  if  it  please  thee,  I  will  adopt  another 
policy — "  let  me  speak,  and  answer  thou  me."  Behold  how 
complacent  is  Job  !  how  willing  to  adopt  any  form  of  arbitration  ! 
how  anxious  to  throw  the  responsibility  upon  another  I  He  feels 
himself  to  be  right,  and  therefore  the  other  side  may  make  its 
own  arrangements  and  its  own  terms,  and  whatever  they  are  he 
will  boldly  accept  them !  Every  man  must  be  answered  in  his  own 
tone :  "  With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again."  If  your  challenge  is  so  bold  and  proud,  God  must  meet  you 
on  the  ground  which  you  yourself  have  chosen.    "Then  the  Lord 

answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  and  said "  then  comes 

the  cataract  of  interrogation,  the  tempest  of  inquiry,  in  which  Job 
seems  to  say,  O  spare  me  I  for  behold  I  am  vile  :  what  shall  I 
answer  thee  ?  I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth  :  once  have 
I  spoken,  but  I  will  not  answer;  yea,  twice,  but  I  will  proceed 
no  further :  O  thou  God  of  the  whirlwind,  give  me  rest;  let  me 
have  time  to  draw  my  breath  !  But,  poor  Job,  thou  didst  say  to 
God,  "  Call  thou,  and  I  will  answer  :  or  let  me  speak,  and  answer 
thou  me : "  where  is  now  thy  boast,  thy  pride,  thy  vain  talking  ? 
Thus  does  God  humble  us  in  a  thousand  ways.  We  pull  down  our 
barns  and  build  greater,  and  behold  in  the  morning  they  are  without 
roof  and  without  foundation,  and  none  can  say  where  the  solid 
structure  stood.  We  say,  "  Let  us  build  a  tower  which  shall  reach 
even  unto  heaven  " ;  and  we  build  it  very  high,  and  in  the  morning 
when  we  come  to  finish  it,  lo,  there  is  not  one  stone  left  upon 
another.  There  is  a  humbling  ministry  in  creation.  Nature  is  full 
of  rebuke,  and  criticism,  and  judgment ;  or  she  is  full  of  comfort 
and  suggestion,  and  religion  rapsable  and  most  tender  benediction. 


Jobxxxviii.-xli.]    THE  THEOPHANY,  AS  A  WHOLE. 

How  apt  we  are  to  suppose  that  we  could  answer  God  if  we 
only  had  the  opportunity  !  Could  we  but  see  him  ;  could  we  but 
have  an  interview  with  him  ;  could  we  but  speak  to  him  face  to 
face,  how  we  should  vindicate  ourselves !  There  was  a  man 
who  once  sought  to  see  God,  and  he  turned  and  saw  him,  and 
fell  down  as  one  dead.  Sudden  revelation  would  blind  us.  Let 
us  not  tempt  God  too  much  to  show  himself.  We  know  not 
what  we  ask.  What  is  the  great  answer  to  our  trial  ?  The 
universe.  What  is  the  great  commentary  upon  God  ?  Providence. 
What  is  the  least  profitable  occupation  ?  Controversy.  Thus 
much  have  we  been  taught  by  our  reading  in  the  Book  of  Job. 
Where  Job  had  a  spiritual  revelation — a  voice  answering  out  of 
the  whirlwind — we  have  had  personal  example.  We  do  not 
hear  God  or  see  God  in  any  direct  way,  but  we  see  Jesus,  the 
Son  of  God,  the  Son  of  man,  who  also  knows  all  the  secrets  of 
nature,  for  he  was  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things 
consist :  the  universe  is  his  garment ;  behold,  he  is  within  the 
palpitating,  the  living  soul.  O  mighty  One!  when  thou  dost 
come  to  us  in  our  controversies  and  reasonings,  plead  not  against 
us  with  thy  great  power,  but  begin  at  Moses,  and  the  prophets, 
and  the  Psalms,  and  in  all  the  Scriptures  expound  unto  us  the 
things  concerning  thyself;  and  we  shall  know  who  the  speaker 
is  by  the  warmth  that  glows  in  our  thankful  hearts. 


Job  xlii.  1-6. 

"Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said,  I  know  that  thou  canst  do  every 
thing,  and  that  no  thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee.  Who  is  he  that 
hideth  counsel  without  knowledge  ?  therefore  have  I  uttered  that  I  under- 
stood not ;  things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not.  Hear,  I 
beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak  :  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto 
me.  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear :  but  now  mine  eye 
seeth  thee.     Wherefore.  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 

AFTER   THE    STORM. 

WHAT  does  it  all  come  to ?  We  have  been  much  excited  by 
the  process,  what  is  its  consummation?  Is  the  end  worthy 
of  the  beginning?  Is  the  literary  structure  well  put  together, 
and  does  it  end  in  domes  and  pinnacles  worthy  of  its  magnitude 
and  original  purpose  ?  Or  is  this  a  lame  and  impotent  conclu- 
sion ?     Let  us  deal  frankly  with  the  facts  as  they  are  before  us. 

It  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  feeling  of  some  disappointment  as  we 
come  to  the  conclusion  of  the  Book  of  Job.  On  first  reading,  the 
last  chapter  seems  to  be  the  poorest  in  all  the  work.  If  the 
writer  was  a  dramatist,  he  seems  to  have  lost  his  cunning  towards 
the  close.  This  chapter  appears,  when  first  looked  at,  to  have 
been  written  by  a  wearied  hand.  The  writer  seems  to  be  saying, 
I  would  I  had  never  begun  this  drama  of  Job  :  parts  of  it  were 
interesting  enough  to  me,  but  now  I  have  come  to  sum  it  all  up 
I  find  a  want  of  glory ;  I  have  not  light  enough  to  set  above  the 
whole  tragedy;  I  thought  to  have  ended  amid  the  glory  of  noon- 
tide, and  I  find  myself  writing  indistinctly  and  feebly  in  the  cool 
and  uncertain  twilight.  Should  any  man  so  express  himself  he 
must  vindicate  his  position  by  the  chapter  as  it  stands  at  the 
close  of  the  Book  of  Job.  Is  Job  alive  ?  Did  we  not  expect  him 
to  go  down  under  the  cataract  of  questions  which  we  had  been 
considering?  Does  he  not  lie  a  dead  drowned  man  under  the 
tremendous  torrent?  To  what  shall  we  liken  the  course  of 
Job  ?     Shall  we  say,  A  ship  at  sea  ?     Then  verily  it  was  a  ship 


Jobxlii.  1-6.]  AFTER  THE  STORM.  399 

that  never  knew  anything  but  storms  :  every  wind  of  heaven  had 
a  quarrel  with  it;  the  whole  sky  clouded  into  a  frown  when 
looking  upon  that  vessel ;  the  sea  was  troubled  with  it  as  with  a 
burden  it  could  not  carry,  and  the  lightnings  made  that  poor  ship 
their  sport.  Did  the  ship  ever  come  into  port  ?  or  was  it  lost  in 
the  great  flood  ?  Shall  we  compare  Job  to  a  traveller  ?  Then 
he  seems  to  have  travelled  always  in  great  jungles.  Quiet, 
broad,  sunny,  flowery  roads  there  were  none  in  all  the  way  that 
Job  pursued :  he  is  entangled,  he  is  in  darkness,  the  air  is  rent 
by  roars  and  cries  of  wild  beasts  and  birds  of  prey.  It  was  a 
sad,  sad  journey.  Is  there  anything  left  of  Job  ?  The  very 
weakness  of  the  man's  voice  in  this  last  chapter  is  the  crowning 
perfection  of  art  If  Job  had  stood  straight  up  and  spoken  in  a» 
unruffled  and  unhindered  voice,  his  doing  so  would  have  been 
out  of  harmony  with  all  that  has  gone  before.  It  was  an  inspira- 
tion to  make  him  whisper  at  the  last ;  it  was  inspired  genius  that 
said,  The  hero  of  this  tale  must  be  barely  heard  when  he  speaks 
at  last ;  there  must  be  no  mistake  about  the  articulation,  every 
word  must  be  distinct,  but  the  whole  must  be  uttered  as  it  would 
be  by  a  man  who  had  been  deafened  by  all  the  tempests  of  the 
air  and  affrighted  by  all  the  visions  of  the  lower  world.  So  even 
the  weakness  is  not  imbecility ;  it  is  the  natural  weakness  that 
ought  to  come  after  such  a  pressure.  Old  age  has  its  peculiar  and 
sweet  characteristic.  It  would  be  out  of  place  in  youth.  There 
is  a  dignity  of  feebleness ;  there  is  a  weakness  that  indicates  the 
progress  and  establishment  of  a  moral  education.  Job,  then,  is 
not  weak  in  any  senile  or  contemptible  sense ;  he  is  weak  in  a 
natural  and  proper  degree. 

Let  us  hear  every  word  of  his  speech.  What  a  deep  conviction 
he  has  of  God's  infinite  majesty — "  I  know  that  thou  canst  do 
every  thing."  These  words  might  be  read  as  if  they  were  the 
expression  of  intellectual  feebleness.  They  are  the  words  of  a 
shattered  mind,  or  of  undeveloped  intellect ;  they  are  more  like 
a  repetition  than  an  original  or  well-reasoned  conviction.  "  I 
know  that  thou  canst  do  every  thing," — words  which  a  child 
might  say.  Yet  they  are  the  very  words  that  ought  to  be  said 
under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case.  There  must  be  no 
attempt  to  match  God's  eloquence ;  that  thunder  must  roll  in  its 


400  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xlii.  i-6. 

own  heavens,  and  no  man  must  attempt  to  set  his  voice  against 
that  shock  of  eloquence.  Better  that  Job  should  speak  in  a 
stifled  voice,  with  head  fallen  on  his  breast,  saying,  '*I  know 
that  thou  canst  do  every  thing."  He  said  much  saying  little. 
He  paid  God,  so  to  say,  the  highest  tribute  by  not  answering  him 
in  the  same  rhetoric,  but  by  contrasting  his  muffled  tone  with 
the  imperious  demands  that  seemed  to  shatter  the  air  in  which 
they  were  spokeii.  Who  can  be  religious  who  does  not  feel  that 
he  has  to  deal  with  omnipotence  ?  Who  can  be  frivolous  in  the 
presence  of  almightiness — in  the  presence  of  him  whose  breath 
may  be  turned  towards  the  destruction  of  the  universe,  the  lifting 
up  of  whose  hand  makes  all  things  tremble.  Without  veneration 
>iere  is  no  religion.  That  veneration  may  be  turned  into  super- 
stition is  no  argument  against  this  contention.  Not  what  may  be 
done  by  perverting  genius,  but  what  is  natural  and  congruous  is 
the  question  now  before  the  mind.  There  should  be  a  place, 
therefore,  for  silence  in  the  church  :  "  The  Lord  is  in  his  holy 
temple ;  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  him."  We  may  not 
stare  with  audacity.  If  we  catch  any  hint  of  the  light  of  his 
garment,  it  must  be  by  furtive  glances.  See,  then.  Job  over- 
powered, convinced  at  least  of  omnipotence,  assured  that  he  has 
to  deal  with  almightiness.  That  assurance  will  determine  all  that 
he  says  afterwards.  But  omnipotence  is,  so  to  say,  objective; 
it  is  outside  of  us,  beyond  us,  something  to  be  looked  at,  perhaps 
admired,  perhaps  appealed  to  in  servile  tones. 

Is  there  no  attribute  of  God  which  corresponds  with  this  but 
looks  in  the  other  direction  ?  Job  has  discovered  that  attribute, 
for  he  adds  "  and  that  no  thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee." 
The  God  of  Job's  conception,  then,  was  first  clothed  with 
omnipotence,  and  secondly  invested  with  omniscience.  Job  is 
now  upon  solid  ground.  He  is  no  dreammg  theologian.  Tie  has 
laid  hold  of  the  ideal  God  in  a  way  which  will  certainly  and  most 
substantially  assist  him.  If  omnipotence  were  the  only  attrTSute 
o|  God,  we  should  feejy  sense  of  security,  because  we  could 
exclude  him  from  the  sanctuary  of  our  being;  we  could  keep 
him  at  bay ;  we  could  do  with  him  as  we  could  do  with  our 
nearest  and  dearest  friend, — we  could  look  loyalty  and  think 
blasphemy.     Who  can  not  smile,  and  yet  in  his  heart  feel  all 


Jobxlii.  1-6.]  AFTER   THE  STORM.  401 

the  cruelty  of  murder?  But  here  is  a  God  who  can  search 
thought,  and  try  the  reins  of  the  children  of  men  ;  from  whose 
eye  nothing  is  hidden,  but  who  sees  the  thought  before  it  is  a .  ^ 
tliought,  when  it  is  rising  as  a  mist  from  the  mind  to  shape  itself 
into  an  imagining,  a  dream  or  a  purpose.  There  is  not  a  word 
upon  my  tongue,  there  is  not  a  thought  in  my  heart,  but,  lo,  O 
Lord,  thou  knowest  it  altogether.  God  is  a  searcher  of  hearts. 
God  uses  this  word  "search  "  again  and  again  in  talking  to  /pb  : 
Hast  thou  searched  the  depths  of  the  sea,  the  treasures  of  the 
hail,  the  hiding-place  of  wisdom  ?  hast  thou  penetrated  it,  taken 
away  fold  after  fold,  and  probed  the  infinite  secret  to  its  core  ? 
A  wonderful  revelation  of  God  is  this,  which  invests  him  with 
the  attribute  of  searching,  piercing  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  the 
joints  and  marrow.  There  is  nothing  hidden  from  the  eye  of 
God.  "  All  things,"  we  read  in  this  book,  '*  are  naked  and  opened 
unto  the  eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do."  God  is  all 
secret :  to  God  secret  is  impossible.  The  thing  we  have  hidden 
in  our  hearts  lies  under  the  blaze  of  noon-day  burning  light  Is 
it  nothing  to  have  come  to  this  conclusion  on  practical  grounds 
as  Job  has  done  ?  We  may  come  into  religious  conceptions  in 
one  of  two  ways  :  we  may  be  instructed  in  them,  they  may  be 
communicated  to  us  by  the  friendly  voice  of  father  or  teacher  or 
pastor,  and  we  may  hold  them  with  some  realisation  of  their 
sacredness ;  or  we  may  be  scourged  into  them,  driven  into  our 
religious  persuasions  and  conclusions ;  we  may  be  caused  to  flee 
into  them  by  some  pursuing  tempest :  when  that  is  the  case,  our 
religion  cannot  be  uprooted,  for  it  is  not  something  we  hold 
lightly  or  secure  by  the  hand ;  it  is  part  of  our  very  souls,  it  is 
involved  in  our  identity.  So  there  is  a  difference  between  intel- 
lectual religion  and  experimental  religion ;  there  is  a  difference 
between  the  Christianity  of  the  young  heart  and  the  Christianity 
of  the  old  heart :  in  the  first  instance  there  must  be  more  or  less 
of  high  imagination,  ardent  desire,  perhaps  a  touch  of  speculation, 
perfectly  innocent  and  often  most  useful ;  but  in  the  case  of  the 
experienced  Christian  all  history  stamps  the  heart  with  its 
impress ;  the  man  has  tested  the  world,  and  has  written  "  lie 
and  vanity  "  on  its  fairest  words ;  he  knows  that  there  is  some- 
thing  beyond  appearances^^  he  has  beeiTainictetrrrrtoJijs  religion, 
and  he  is  now  as  wrought  iron  that  cannot  be  bent  or  broken ; 

VOL.   XI.  ~  20 


402  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job  xlii.  i-6. 

^rtiewhole  process  has  been  completed  within  himself,  so  that 
suggestion  and  fact,  conjecture  and  experience,  joy  and~sorr6^^, 
high  strength  and  all-humbling  affliction,  have  co-operatedTn^Ke* 
working  out  of  a  result  which  is  full  of  sacred  trust,  and  which 
is  not  without  a  certain  stimulus  to  pure  joy.  ^      " 

So  what  was  supposed  to  be  weakness  was  in  reality  strength. 
The  subduing  of  Job  as  to  his  mere  attitude  and  voice,  is  the 
elevation  of  Job  as  to  hishighest  conceptions  and  experiences. 
What  a  thorough  conviction  he  had  of  his  finite  condition  I — 
"  Things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not."  It  is  some- 
thing to  know  that  there  are  some  spaces  we  cannot  reach.  The 
eye  can  do  more  than  the  hand.  The  hand  would  sometimes 
follow  the  eye,  but  it  follows  it  at  an  immeasurable  distance. 
The  eye  sees  the  fair  blue  arch  of  summer,  but  the  spoiling  hand 
cannot  stain  that  fair  disclosure  of  God's  almightiness.  The  mind 
is  the  better  for  knowing  that  it  is  pursued  by  a  law  of  trespass. 
Imagination  is  none  the  worse,  but  all  the  better,  for  seeing 
written  here  and  there  all  round  the  horizon  :  No  thoroughfare 
— No  road — Private.  What  if  we  could  see  everything,  handle 
everything,  explain  everything?  Who  would  not  soon  tire 
of  the  intolerable  monotony?  It  is  the  surprise,  the  flash  of 
unexpected  light,  the  hearing  of  a  going  in  the  tops  of  the  trees, 
the  shaking  of  the  arras,  that  makes  one  feel  that  things  are 
larger  than  we  had  once  imagined,  and  by  their  largeness  they 
allure  us  into  broader  study,  into  more  importunate  prayer. 
"Things  too  wonderful  for  me" — in  providence,  in  the  whole 
management  of  human  history,  in  the  handling  of  the  universe — 
that  easy,  masterly  handling  by  which  all  things  are  kept  in 
attitude  and  at  duty, — that  secret  handling,  for  who  can  see  the 
hand  that  arranges  and  sustains  all  nature?  Yet  there  nature 
stands,  in  all  security  and  harmony  and  beneficence,  to  attest 
that  behind  it  there  is  a  government  living,  loving,  personal, 
paternal.  Is  it  not  something  to  know,  then,  that  we  are  not 
infinite?  It  is  easy  to  admit  that  in  words.  Nothing  is  gained, 
however,  by  these  easy  admissions  of  great  propositions  in 
metaphysics  and  theology.  We  must  here  again,  as  in  the  former 
instance,  be  driven  into  them,  so  that  when  we  utter  them  we 
may  speak  with   the  consent  and  force  of  a  united  life.     We 


Job  xlii.  1-6.]  AFTER   THE  STORM.  403 

accept   the   position  of  creaturedom,  and    must  not   attempt  to 
seize  the  crown  of  creatorship. 

What  dissatisfaction  Job  expresses  with  mere  hearsay  in  reli- 
gious inquiry  !  "  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the 
ear."  That  is  superficial.  There  is  nothing  in  it  that  can 
profoundly  and  savingly  affect  the  life.  Who  has  not  heard 
thousands  of  sermons,  and  forgotten  them  by  the  easy  process  of 
turning  aside  from  their  appeals  and  practically  disobeying  them  ? 
Yet,  who  has  heard  aright — heard  with  his  soul,  heard  with  his 
unblunted  and  undivided  attention,  heard  with  the  eagerness  of 
men  who  must  hear  or  die?  Alas,  there  is  but  little  such 
hearing.  Even  when  the  Scripture  is  read  in  the  public  assembly, 
who  can  hear  all  its  music,  who  can  reply  to  its  sweet  argument  ? 
Is  there  not  much  mere  hearsay  in  religion?  We  may  hear 
certain  truths  repeated  so  frequently  that  to  hear  anything  to  the 
contrary  would  amount  to  a  species  of  infidelity.  In  reality, 
there  may  be  no  infidelity  in  the  matter  at  all,  for  what  we  have 
been  hearing  may  be  all  wrong  as  we  shall  presently  have 
occasion  to  note.  There  is  a  mysterious,  half-superstitious  in- 
fluence about  repetition.  Things  may  be  said  with  a  conciseness 
and  a  frequency  which  claim  for  the  things  said  a  species  of 
revelation.  Hence  many  false  orthodoxies,  and  narrow  construc- 
tions of  human  thought  and  human  history,  because  other  things 
do  not  balance  with  what  we  have  always  heard.  But  from 
whom  have  we  heard  these  things  ?  It  may  be  that  the  fault 
lies  in  the  speaker  and  in  the  hearer,  and  that  the  new  voice  is 
not  a  new  voice  in  any  sense  amounting  to  mere  novelty,  but 
new  because  of  our  ignorance,  new  because  we  were  not  alive  to 
our  larger  privileges. 

"  But  now,"  Job  continues,  "  mine  eye  seeth  thee."  *'  I  have 
heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear  "  is  equal  to,  I  have  heard 
of  thine  omnipotence :  "  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee  "  amounts  to 
a  balancing  of  the  omniscient  power  of  God.  Man  is  allowed  to 
see  something  of  God,  as  God  sees  everything  of  man.  The  vision 
is  reciprocal :  whilst  God  looks  we  look, — "  mine  eye  seeth." 

"  Wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 
No  man  can  imagine  light.     Looking   upon  the  grey  landscape 


404  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.  [Job  xlii.  i-6. 

before  the  sun  has  fully  risen,  a  man  says — I  can  imagine  what 
it  will  be  when  the  sun  shines  upon  it.  He  is  wrong.  No  man 
can  imagine  sunlight.  He  can  do  so  in  a  little  degree ;  he  can 
imaginatively  increase  the  light  that  is  already  shining,  but  when 
the  sun,  so  to  say,  chooses  to  come  out  in  all  the  wizardry  of  his 
power,  touching  and  blessing  what  he  will  and  as  he  will,  he 
startles  the  most  diligent  devotee  at  his  altar  with  new  displays 
of  unsuspected  splendour.  So  it  is,  only  in  infinitely  higher 
degree,  with  the  living  God.  Could  we  but  see  him  even  in  his 
goodness,  it  should  be  unto  us  like  glory ;  were  his  glory  to  pass 
before  us,  we  should  never  see  it  more,  for  we  should  be  blinded 
by  the  excess  of  light 

Here,  then,  we  find  the  patriarch  once  so  eloquent  abhorring 
himself  in  dust  and  ashes.  That  is  a  condition  to  which  we  must 
come  before  we  can  be  right  with  God.  Whilst  we  are  mere  con- 
troversialists, we  can  never  be  penitents ;  whilst  we  are  "  clever," 
we  can  never  pray;  whilst  we  think  that  there  is  one  poor 
little  rag  upon  our  nakedness,  God  will  not  command  the  blessed 
ones  to  bring  forth  the  white  robe  of  adoption  and  restoration. 
We  must  be  unmade  before  we  can  be  re-made.  We  must  be 
dead  before  we  can  live.  Thou  fool,  that  which  thou  sowest 
must  die  before  it  can  bring  forth  fruit.  That  is  the  explanation 
of  our  want  of  real  religion.  We  have  never  experienced  real 
contrition  for  sin.  We  have  never  seen  that  we  are  sinners.  If 
we  could  see  that,  all  the  other  prayers  of  Scripture  would 
gather  themselves  up  in  the  one  prayer — God  be  merciful  to  me 
a  sinner  1  So  long  as  we  can  ask  questions  we  are  outside  the 
whole  idea  of  redemption ;  by  these  questions  we  mean  merely 
intellectual  inquiries, — not  the  solemn  moral  inquiry,  '*What 
shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  but  the  vain  intellectual  inquiry  which 
assumes  that  the  mind  retains  its  integrity  and  is  willing  to 
converse  with  God  upon  equal  terms.  From  the  Pharisee  God 
turns  away  with  infinite  contempt.  We  may  know  something 
of  the  full  meaning  of  this  by  looking  at  it  in  its  social  relations. 
Take  the  case  as  it  really  stands  in  actual  experience.  A  man 
has  misunderstood  you,  robbed  you ;  has  acted  proudly  and  self- 
sufficiently  toward  you ;  has  been  assured  of  one  thing  above 
all  others,  and  that  is  that  he  himself  is  right  whoever  else 


Job  xlii.  1-6.]  AFTER  THE  STORM.  405 

may  be  wrong :  he  has  pursued  his  course ;  that  course  has  ended 
in  failure,  disappointment,  mortification,  poverty :  he  returns  to 
you  that  he  may  ask  favours,  but  he  asks  them  with  all  the  old 
pride,  without  a  single  hint  that  he  has  done  anything  wrong,  or 
committed  a  single  mistake.     You  cannot  help  that  man ;  you  may 
feed  him,  but  he  can  never  rise  above  the  position  of  a  mendicant, 
a  pauper  for  whom  there  is  no  help  of  a  permanent  kind.     He 
speaks  to  you  as  if  he  were  conferring  a  favour  upon  you  in 
asking  for  the  bread  he  wants  to  eat.     What  must  that  man  do 
before  he  can  ever  be  a  man  again  in  any  worthy  sense  ?     He 
must  get  rid  of  his  pride,  his  self-sufficiency,  his  self- idolatry ;  he 
must  come  and  say,  if  not  in  words  yet  in  all  the  signification  of 
spirit — I  am  a  fool,  I  have  done  wrong  every  day  of  my  life ;  I 
have  mistaken  the  bulk,  proportion,  colour,  value  of  everything ; 
I  have  been  vain,  self-sufficient,  self-confident;    I  have  duped 
myself:  O  pity  me !     Now  you  can  begin,  and  now  you  can  make 
solid  work  :  the  old  man  has  been  taken  out  of  him ;  the  sinning, 
the  offending  Adam  has  been  whipped  out  of  him,  and  he  comes 
and  says  in  effect.  Help  me  now,  for  I  am  without  self-excuse, 
self-defence ;  my  vanity,  my  pride  are  not  dead  only,  but  buried, 
rotten,  for  ever  gone.     Now  you  may  open  your  mind,  open  your 
heart,  open  your  hand ;  now  you  may  buy  a  ring  for  his  fingers 
and  shoes  for  his  feet ;  now  you  may  bring  forth  the  best  robe, 
and  put  it  on  him ;  now  he  begins  to  be  a  son.     But  without  this 
there  is  no  possible  progress.     If  we  go  to  God  and  say  that  we 
are  men  of  great  intellect,  men  even  of  genius,  we  can  understand 
thee,  show  thyself  to  us  ;  we  are  equal  to  the  occasion ;  if  we 
have  made   any  mistakes,  they  are  mere  slips,  they  have  not 
affected  the  integrity  of  our  character  or  the  pureness  of  our 
souls ;  we  will  climb  the  range  of  creation  ;  we  will  demand  to 
exercise  the  franchise  of  our  uninjured  manhood.     Nothing  will 
come  of  such  high  demand.     The  heavens  will  become  as  lead 
when  such  appeals  are  addressed  to  them.     We  must  come  in 
another  tone,  saying,  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner!     Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?     "A  guilty,  weak,  and  helpless 
worm,  on  thy  kind  arms  I  fall."     Father,  I  have  sinned  against 
heaven  and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy 
son  :  make  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants.     Now  the  house  will 
be  full  of  light,  full  of  music  ;  a  house  almost  heaven. 


PRAYER. 

We  bless  thy  name,  thou  loving  One,  for  thinking  of  our  need  of  rest. 
Thou  knowest  our  frame,  thou  rememberest  that  we  are  dust;  thou  hast 
set  among  the  days  one  whose  name  is  Rest.  This  is  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord.  We  hear  thy  voice  saying  unto  us,  Rest  awhile.  Thou  dost 
cause  us  to  rest  that  we  may  gather  strength ;  thou  dost  not  lull  us  into 
stupor ;  thou  dost  in  sleep  make  us  again,  yea,  thou  dost  create  us  in  thine 
own  image  and  likeness,  so  that  when  we  come  back  from  the  land  of  forget- 
fulness  we  are  ready  for  duty,  for  service,  for  suffering,  and  we  expend  the 
Lord's  rest  in  doing  the  Lord's  work.  We  bless  thee  for  the  Sabbath  day. 
It  is  a  day  of  triumph,  the  grave  was  robbed  of  its  victory  by  the  rising 
Christ  He  is  not  in  the  grave,  he  is  risen :  we  behold  the  place  where  the 
Lord  lay,  but  he  himself  has  gone  forth  free  for  ever.  Teach  us  the  meaning 
of  death ;  show  us  that  we  must  all  die,  but  that  being  in  Christ  we  die  into 
greater  life ;  we  do  not  die  into  darkness  and  extinction,  we  die  into  light 
and  immortality.  Jesus  Christ  brought  this  great  truth  to  light  in  the 
gospel :  now  we  say,  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy 
victory?  We  triumph  in  the  Lord's  victory,  we  rise  again  in  the  Lord's 
resurrection.  Help  us  to  understand  more  of  our  relation  to  Jesus  Christ ; 
enable  us  to  feel  it  more  vitally ;  may  we  be  in  him,  rooted,  stablished,  built 
up,  yea  may  we  be  made  one  with  the  Son  of  God.  Then  shall  Christ's 
triumph  be  ours,  and  the  peace  of  Christ  shall  be  our  peace,  and  because  he 
is  in  heaven  we  shall  be  very  near  him  there.  Fill  us  with  all  the  fulness 
of  Christ.  In  him  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily :  may  we 
partake  of  that  fulness — fulness  of  God,  fulness  of  Christ,  fulness  of  life,  and 
light,  and  love ;  yea,  may  Christ  overflow  in  us,  so  that  we  may  the  more 
abundantly  and  earnestly  desire  him,  knowing  how  rich  is  his  grace,  and 
how  tender  the  touch  of  his  love.  We  bless  thee  for  all  sense  of  new  life  ; 
thou  art  writing  the  story  of  the  resurrection  upon  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth ;  every  opening  flower  preaches  the  good  news  of  rising  again,  every 
green  little  bud  upon  hedge  and  tree  tells  us  that  God  liveth,  and  he  will 
bring  up,  from  the  winter  of  our  sorrow  and  sin  and  overthrow,  the  spring 
immortal,  the  spring  of  celestial  beauty.  Every  morning  preaches  the  gospel 
of  resurrection,  every  night  the  old  enemy  is  overthrown  and  buried,  and 
new-born  light  shines  upon  all  the  awakening  and  rejoicing  earth.  May  we 
not  be  beguiled  from  our  faith  by  aught  that  men  can  say  of  nature  misread  and 
misunderstood ;  may  we  rather  read  the  parable  of  divine  action  in  nature, 
and  see  in  every  dawn,  in  every  spring,  in  every  new  opportunity,  a  hint 
of  re-creation,  and  a  guarantee  of  immortality.  Help  us  to  bring  the  power 
of  an  endless  life  to  bear  upon  the  action  of  the  present  day ;  then  shall 
little  things  be  made  great,  and  things  of  no  account  shall  stand  up  invested 
with  importance.  Every  word  shall  fall  into  the  music  of  Thine  own  utter- 
ance, and  every  aspiration  shall  lift  us  nearer  thy  throne.  Pity  those  who 
have  no  Sabbath  day,  who  toil,  and  wear  themselves,  and  fall  as  victims 


Job  xlii.  7*17.]    EXALTA  TION  AND  DEA  TH  OF  JOB.     407 

under  crushing  anxieties;  pity  those  who  have  no  Eastertide,  no  vernal 
springtide,  no  occasion  of  realized  life,  in  which  death  flees  away,  and  the 
grave,  ashamed  of  its  emptiness,  seeks  to  fill  itself  with  flowers.  Look  upon 
those  who  are  dying,  and  tell  them  that  death  is  overthrown;  may  there  be 
joy  in  the  chamber  of  affliction,  may  there  be  triumph  in  the  house  of 
bereavement,  may  they  who  sit  in  darkness  see  a  great  light,  and  say,  Christ 
the  Lord  is  risen  to-day,  and  his  name  is  great  in  Zion.     Amen. 

Chapter  xlii.  7-17. 

"  And  it  was  so,  that  after  the  Lord  had  spoken  these  words  unto  Job, 
the  Lord  said  to  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  My  wrath  is  kindled  against  thee, 
and  against  thy  two  friends  :  for  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  that 
is  right,  as  my  servant  Job  hath.  Therefore  take  unto  you  now  seven 
bullocks  and  seven  rams,  and  go  to  my  servant  Job,  and  ofier  up  for 
yourselves  a  burnt  offering ;  and  my  servant  Job  shall  pray  for  you : 
for  him  will  I  accept :  lest  I  deal  with  you  after  your  folly,  in  that  ye  have 
not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  which  is  right,  like  my  servant  Job.  So  Eliphaz 
the  Temanite  and  Bildad  the  Shuhite  and  Zophar  the  Naamathite  went,  and 
did  according  as  the  Lord  commanded  them  :  the  Lord  also  accepted  Job. 
And  the  Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for  his  friends  : 
also  the  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before.  Then  came  there 
unto  him  all  his  brethren,  and  all  his  sisters,  and  all  they  that  had  been 
of  his  acquaintance  before,  and  did  eat  bread  with  him  in  his  house  :  and 
they  bemoaned  him,  and  comforted  him  over  all  the  evil  that  the  Lord  had 
brought  upon  him  :  every  man  also  gave  him  a  piece  of  money,  and  every 
one  an  earring  of  gold.  So  the  Lord  blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job  more 
than  his  beginning :  for  he  had  fourteen  thousand  sheep,  and  six  thousand 
camels,  and  a  thousand  yoke  of  oxen,  and  a  thousand  she  asses.  He 
had  also  seven  sons  and  three  daughters.  And  he  called  the  name  of 
the  first,  Jemima  ;  and  the  name  of  the  second,  Kezia ;  and  the  name  of  the 
third,  Keren-happuch.  And  in  all  the  land  were  no  women  found  so 
fair  as  the  daughters  of  Job  :  and  their  father  gave  them  inheritance  among 
their  brethren.  After  this  lived  Job  an  hundred  and  forty  years,  and 
saw  his  sons,  and  his  sons'  sons,  even  four  generations.  So  Job  died, 
being  old  and  full  of  days." 

THE  EXALTATION  AND  DEATH  OP  JOB. 

HOW  God  rebukes  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  I  How  God 
humiliates  the  very  men  who  supposed  that  they  were 
defending  and  glorifying  him  I  How  even  Christian  ministers 
may  misrepresent  God  !  We  may  be  talking  about  religion 
without  being  religious.  These  are  the  thoughts  which  are 
excited  by  the  circumstance  that  when  all  the  comforters  had 
exhausted  their  accusatory  eloquence  they  had  neither  comforted 
Job  nor  pleased  God.  It  is  right  The  tone  that  is  to  comfort 
the  world  is  not   a   tone  of  exasperation :  when  the    is  world 


4o8  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,         [Job  xlii.  7-17. 

really  comforted  in  its  inner  heart  it  will  be  by  music,  by  the 
singing  of  angels,  by  the  reception  of  gospels,  by  communion 
with  the  loving  God.  How  sad  a  thing  is  this,  that  men  may 
suppose  they  are  serving  God  at  the  very  time  they  are  angering 
him !  How  infinitely  sad  it  is  that  a  man  may  suppose  he  is 
preaching  the  gospel  when  he  neither  understands  what  he  is 
saying  nor  feels  it  in  all  its  pathos!  Are  there  any  critics  so 
intolerable,  so  discouraging  to  man,  so  unacceptable  to  God, 
as  those  who  think  they  know  all  things,  and  can  answer  all 
questions,  and  rebuke  all  errors  and  infirmities,  and  sit  in  just 
judgment  upon  the  whole  race  of  mankind  ?  They  think  they 
do  God  service ;  nay,  they  are  sure  of  it ;  they  affirm  it  with 
great  emphasis;  they  suppose  they  are  the  men,  and  that 
wisdom  will  die  with  them  :  what  if  at  the  end  they  should 
argue  themselves  into  a  great  divine  wrath,  and  plunge  them- 
selves by  their  giddy  logic  into  the  very  fire  of  divine  judgment  ? 

The  three  comforters  surely  spoke  up  for  God  nobly,  with 
eloquence,  and  with  great  argumentative  skill,  and  with  signal 
critical  ability;  they  did  not  hesitate  to  perform  upon  Job  the 
whole  process  of  vivisection ;  they  were  not  kept  back  by  any 
fear  of  wounding  his  feelings ;  they  were  exasperating  preachers  ; 
they  hurled  at  Job  the  largest  missiles  they  could  lift  and  throw  : 
but  where  was  their  bowing  down  of  heart,  where  their  tender 
sympathy,  where  their  desire  to  know  the  case  in  its  reality 
and  make  the  best  of  it?  What  if  at  the  last  the  Christian 
preacher  may  have  to  apologise  to  the  people  whom  he  has 
been  misleading  for  offering  them  false  doctrine  and  false 
comfort  I  Did  the  comforters  of  Job  ever  say,  Before  we  utter 
one  word  about  this  misery,  let  us  pray?  Was  there  any 
prayer  in  the  whole  process  until  Job  began  to  pray  at  the 
end  of  the  tumultuous  colloquy  ?  They  began  in  high  argument 
and  in  sonorous  eloquence,  and  they  hurled  the  commonplaces 
of  their  time  at  the  wounded  head  of  Job,  but  even  Eliphaz 
the  Temanite — eldest,  and  in  some  respects  best,  of  the  com- 
forters— did  not  say.  Let  us  put  away  all  controversy,  and  come 
together  in  prayer  without  words — that  mute  wrestling  agony 
of  the  soul  which  God  will  understand  and  not  pass  by  with 
neglect.     What   is   this   gospel  we  have   to    preach,  and    about 


Job xlii.  7-17.]    EXALTA  TION  AND  DBA  TH  OF  JOB.     409 

which  some  people  know  everything,  and  know  most  about  it 
when  they  are  most  ignorant  of  its  spirit?  The  gospel  is  not 
a  mechanical  arrangement,  it  is  not  a  new  device  in  theo- 
logical geometry;  we  cannot  tell  whence  it  cometh,  whither  it 
goeth,  in  many  of  its  effects ;  we  should  always  be  right,  how- 
ever, when  we  proclaim  this  doctrine,  namely — "God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
That  is  a  sentence  which  admits  of  no  amendment.  We  ought 
to  be  careful  how  we  enlarge  it,  for  it  seems  already  to  cover  the 
very  firmament  and  to  flush  the  whole  horizon  with  infinite  and 
tender  colour.  What  if  it  be  our  business  to  proclaim  a  gospel 
rather  than  explain  it  ?  What  if  there  be  no  explanation  of  the 
gospel  at  all  but  a  great  deliverance  of  it — a  mighty,  gracious, 
world-wide  proclamation?  It  may  come  to  pass  that  that  may 
be  the  right  thing  after  all.  We  get  entangled  amongst  men's 
explanations.  Men  sometimes  contradict  one  another  in  the  very 
act  of  explaining  what  they  believe  to  be  the  truth.  What  if  it 
be  so  arranged  that  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  take  up  the  great 
music  and  repeat  it,  saying,  God  is  love :  the  Son  of  man  is  come 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost :  the  Spii'it  and  the  bride 
say,  Come ;  let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come ;  and  whosoever  will 
let  him  come?  These  words  may  be  so  repeated  as  to  affect  the 
heart  as  no  other  words  can  ever  affect  it.  The  fussy,  intrusive, 
self-laudatory,  and  self-trustful  intellect,  so-called,  may  force  its 
way  to  the  front  and  say.  What  do  you  mean  by  "  come  "  ?  and 
we  may  think  it  reasonable  that  the  question  should  be  asked  and 
that  explanation  should  be  given :  thus  we  may  alter  the  terms 
which  God  has  imposed  upon  us ;  thus  we  may  contract  into  a 
human  argument  what  was  meant  to  be  an  infinite  revelation. 
Salvation  can  never  be  by  argument ;  otherwise  only  they  who 
are  mentally  gifted  could  be  saved.  How  few  there  are  who 
could  follow  an  argument  I  How  many  there  are  who  could 
accept  an  assurance,  a  gospel  I  The  argument  is  for  the  trained, 
the  skilled,  the  so-called  wise ;  an  argument  is  the  very  heaven 
of  the  wise  man — the  man  who  is  wise  in  letters  and  wise  after 
the  scale  of  this  world's  wisdom  :  he  says  he  loves  to  argue. 
The  gospel  is  not  a  mere  argument  of  a  mechanical  or  formal 
kind  ;  it  is  a  declaration  that  when  man  lost  himself  and  could 


410  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE.         [Job xlii.  7-17. 

not  recover  himself — when  there  was  no  eye  to  pity  and  no  arm 
to  save,  God's  eye  pitied  and  God's  arm  brought  salvation ;  and 
if  we  trouble  that  revelation  with  little  questions  and  criticisms, 
we  may  be  pleasing  our  own  intellectual  vanity  at  the  expense 
of  losing  the  meaning  of  God's  love.  Surely  there  was  nothing 
wanting  on  the  part  of  Eliphaz  and  his  two  friends  in  the  way  of 
argument,  controversy :  they  stood  up  to  the  line  well,  they  acted 
like  skilled  controversialists ;  no  sooner  did  Job  speak  than  they 
answered  him  with  a  multitude  of  hard  words ;  and  if  words 
went  for  anything,  truly  they  overpowered  the  poor  sufferer  with 
their  rough  and  urgent  eloquence.  Yet  all  the  time  they  were 
but  exasperating  the  God  they  intended  to  serve.  In  all  these 
great  things  let  us  pray,  let  us  whisper,  let  us  keep  closely  to  the 
word  as  it  is  written  for  us,  and  nearer  and  nearer  still  to  the 
gracious  Son  of  God,  and  add  no  word  to  his,  for  our  additions 
are  subtractions,  and  our  explanations  do  but  mystify  what  might 
to  our  hearts  in  their  sincerity  and  simplicity  have  been  clear. 

At  the  very  last  Job  prayed  for  his  friends.  Even  Job  was 
wrong  so  long  as  he  argued.  Argument  has  done  very  little  for 
the  world.  It  has  divided  families ;  it  has  distracted  individual 
minds ;  it  has  broken  the  devout  attention  which  ought  to  have 
been  fixed  upon  vital  points ;  it  has  appeared  to  be  doing  great 
service  when  it  was  only  hindering  the  highest  and  widest 
progress  of  the  ^oul.  We  are  receivers,  not  associates  with  God; 
we  are  to  open  our  hearts  to  receive  the  rain  of  his  truth  and 
love  and  blessing,  and  let  that  rain  peroclate  through  the  whole 
being,  and  then  express  itself  when  working  in  harmony  with  the 
life  in  all  that  is  beauteous  and  fruitful.  "  The  Lord  turned  the 
captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for  his  friends," — as  if  to  say. 
You  are  right ;  you  have  abandoned  controversy,  the  clang  and 
exchange  of  windy  words;  and  you  have  begun  to  fall  down  at 
the  altar,  to  clasp  your  hands  and  lift  up  your  heart's  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  to  pray :  now  all  is  yours  that  is  of  the  nature  of 
blessing  and  comfort  and  restoration.  Let  us  pray  for  one 
another.  Many  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job  who  seem  not 
to  have  heard  of  his  prayer.  What  is  this  prayer  ?  Is  it  an 
attitude  ?  Is  it  a  series  of  words  ?  No ;  it  is  a  condition  of  soul : 
not  a  word  may  be  spoken,  yet  the  mind  may  be  deeply  involved 


Job xlii.  7-17.]    EXALTA  TION  AND  DEA TH  OF  JOB,     41 1 

in  the  sacred  engagement  of  prayer  :  it  is  the  expectancy  of  the 
heart ;  it  is  the  look  which  cannot  be  turned  aside — that  fixed, 
ardent,  soul-gaze  that  means  to  take  heaven  captive.  We  do  not 
pray  when  w^e  use  words ;  the  fewer  words  we  use  the  better  : 
*'  When  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  heathen  do ;  for 
they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking." 
There  is  little  or  no  speaking  in  words ;  there  is  but  a  hinting, 
a  putting  up  of  a  sentence  as  a  signal  or  an  indication,  a  pointing 
to  the  blessing  which  the  soul  would  like  to  possess.  Thus  all 
men  can  pray.  A  few  only  may  be  able  to  pray  in  audible 
sentences  :  but  salvation  is  no  more  of  rhetoric  and  grammar 
than  it  is  of  argument.  We  can  pray  always ;  it  is  a  tear,  a  look, 
an  ejaculation,  a  sigh ;  it  is  the  very  mystery  of  life.  Let  no  man, 
therefore,  say  that  he  cannot  pray  simply  because  he  has  no  gift 
of  words.  The  less  gift  of  words  the  better.  Words  have  troubled 
the  ages;  words  have  hindered  the  truth.  The  true  religious 
condition  is  a  condition  of  heart,  a  quality  of  temper,  spirit, 
disposition,  union  with  the  Son  of  God. 

Some  have  thought  that  the  after-life  of  Job  was  not  suffi- 
ciently blessed  considering  all  the  process  through  which  he 
passed.  Have  they  sufficiently  attended  to  the  expressions 
which  are  used  in  this  connection  ?  Let  us  look  at  this  one  in 
particular : — verse  7,  "  my  servant  Job  " ;  verse  8,  "  my  servant 
Job " ;  verse  8,  again,  "  my  servant  Job."  Who  can  tell  how 
these  words  were  said?  They  are  attributed  to  the  divine 
lips,  and  they  are  not  to  be  read  by  us  with  all  the  fulness  of 
their  emphasis  and  signification.  When  the  Lord  said,  again 
and  again  and  again,  "  my  servant  Job,"  who  can  tell  what  music 
was  in  his  tone,  what  unction,  what  recognition,  what  benedic- 
tion ?  The  anthem  closes  upon  its  key-note :  at  the  very  first 
the  Lord  said  "my  servant  Job";  at  the  end  he  says  "my 
servant  Job."  It  is  possible  for  us  to  say,  "  Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,"  and  merely  to  utter  these  as  so  many  syllables 
more  or  less  beautiful;  but  when  Jesus  Christ  pronounces  the 
very  same  syllables  they  will  mean  heaven.  Words  are  not  the 
same  in  different  mouths.  Some  men  have  no  gift  of  emphasis, 
no  gift  of  expression ;  their  words  are  dissociated,  they  are  un- 
related, they  are  cold,  they  are  not  fused  by  that  mysterious 


4T2  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  [Job  xlii.  7-17. 

power  of  sympathy  and  aflfection  which  runs  them  into  consoli- 
dated beauty  and  blessing.  When  the  Lord  says  "  my  servant 
Job  " — a  word  Job  had  not  heard  these  many  days — he  forgets 
his  sorrow,  and  springs  as  Mary  sprang  when  the  supposed 
gardener  addressed  her  by  her  name.  There  was  a  gardener's 
way  of  speaking  and  a  Christ's  way  :  when  the  Son  of  God  said 
"  Mary,"  all  the  past  came  back  instantly,  and  heaven  came  more 
than  half-way  down  to  inclose  the  resuscitated  heart  in  its  infinite 
security.  There  may,  therefore,  be  a  better  ending  than  we  had 
at  first  supposed.  The  chapter  may  not  be  wanting  in  the 
highest  force  of  expression  when  we  really  look  into  its  syllables, 
when  we  really  listen  to  its  palpitation. 

"  The  Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job  " — took  off  his  fetters, 
his  manacles,  and  the  devil-forged  chain  that  was  cast  about  him, 
and  gave  him  liberty.  Do  not  ask  a  free  man  what  liberty 
means :  ask  an  emancipated  slave.  '*  The  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as 
much  as  he  had  before."  This  expression  "twice  as  much"  is 
arithmetical,  and  is  but  symbolic  ;  it  is  in  no  sense  literal.  "  Twice 
as  much"  means  a  million  times  as  much  multiplied  by  itself 
again  and  again.  When  God  gives,  he  gives  good  measure,  heaped 
up,  pressed  down,  running  over :  "  He  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think."  So  it  may  be  with 
you,  poor  suffering  friend  :  this  is  the  month  of  trial,  this  is  the 
year  of  testing,  this  is  the  period  of  affliction  and  baffling,  of 
bewilderment  and  stupefaction  :  hold  on  ;  cease  from  mere  argu- 
ment in  words ;  pray,  look  heavenward,  hope  steadfastly  in  the 
loving  One,  and  at  the  end  you  shall  have  "  twice  as  much  " — 
as  God  interprets  the  word  **  twice." 

"The  Lord  blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job  more  than  his 
beginning."  There  is  a  'Matter  end."  By  that  all  things  must 
be  judged.  If  you  cut  the  life  of  Jesus  in  twain,  you  might 
accuse  God  of  having  exposed  him  to  the  utmost  want,  loneliness, 
and  cruelty.  We  must  not  interfere  with  the  divine  punctuation 
of  the  literature  of  providence ;  we  must  allow  God  to  put  in  all 
the  secondary  points,  and  not  until  he  has  put  the  full  period  may 
we  venture  to  look  upon  what  he  has  done  and  offer  some 
judgment  as  to  its  scope  and  meaning.     Let  my  latter  end  be 


Jobxlii.7-i7.]    EXALTATION  AND  DEATH  OF  JOB.     413 

like  the  good  man's !  He  dies  well ;  he  dies  like  a  hero ;  he 
dies  as  if  he  meant  to  live  again  :  this  is  not  dying,  it  is  but 
crossing  a  little  stream,  the  narrow  stream  of  death, — a  step,  and 
it  is  passed,  and  is  forgotten.  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the 
righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his."  God  may  do  much 
in  one  day ;  he  may  clear  up  all  the  mysteries  of  a  lifetime  by 
one  flash  of  light.  Judge  nothing  before  the  time.  Let  us  run 
with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith  ;  who  for  the  joy  that  was 
set  before  him  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame — looking 
upon  it  as  a  necessary  process,  and  regarding  the  end  as  the 
explanation  of  all  that  had  gone  before. 

"  In  all  the  land  were  no  women  found  so  fair  as  the  daughters 
of  Job."  In  Old  Testament  times  great  truths  had  to  be  hinted 
by  these  outward  manifestations  or  indications  of  the  divine 
providence.  God  set  beauty  before  the  eyes  of  him  who  had 
suffered  much,  who  had  felt  the  burden  of  darkness.  The  name 
of  the  first  was  "Jemima,"  from  the  Arabic,  dovef  gentle  bird; 
or,  from  another  origin,  day^  day-bright^ — the  eye  of  the  morning, 
the  gleaming  of  a  new  dispensation.  The  name  of  the  second, 
"  Kezia  " — cassia^  a  fragrant  spice.  He  who  had  sat  long  amidst 
pestilence  and  rottennes  and  decay  and  death,  had  cassia  sent  to 
him  from  the  gardens  above.  "  The  name  of  the  third,  Keren- 
happuch," — the  horn  of  beauty ^  or  the  horn  of  plenty :  a  sign  of 
abundance  in  the  house.  All  the  names  were  histories  or  com- 
mentaries or  promises.  Thus  God  blessed  Job  in  a  way  Job 
could  understand :  he  sent  him  back  voices  to  sing  in  the  house, 
and  when  the  fair  girls  passed  before  him,  tinted  with  the 
vermilion  of  nature,  he  said,  This  also  cometh  forth  from  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  excellent  in  counsel,  as  well  as  wondrous  in 
working.  See  God  in  your  family,  in  that  sleeping  infant,  in 
that  opening  mind,  in  those  clinging  hands,  in  those  eyes  that 
are  quickened  into  the  expression  of  prayer; — see  God  in  the 
fields,  in  the  sheep,  and  the  oxen,  and  all  the  great  abundance 
which  is  round  about. 

"  So  Job  died,  being  old  and  full  of  days."  We  cannot  tell 
what  these  words  meant  to  an  Old  Testament  mind.       "Full 


414  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,         [Job  xlii.  7-17. 

of  days."  They  brought  to  him  a  sense  of  completeness.  He 
was  not  satiated,  but  satisfied.  He  said,  The  circle  is  complete  ; 
I  do  not  want  another  hour :  now  I  have  completed  my  career ; 
praise  God  in  eternity.  All  this  was  significant  of  the  future. 
We  have  seen  again  and  again  how  earthly  things  have  been 
invested  with  religious  meanings.  Abraham  was  called  to  go 
out  into  a  far  country,  and  promised  a  land  that  flowed  with 
milk  and  honey ;  and  when  he  came  near  it  he  said — I  do  not 
want  this  ;  I  want  a  country  out  of  sight,  a  heavenly  Canaan,  a 
city  which  hath  foundations  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God: 
I  am  glad  I  was  stirred  up  from  my  home,  that  I  am  come  out,  for 
travelling  has  done  me  good ;  but  as  the  ground  has  enlarged 
and  I  have  seen  things  more  clearly  in  their  right  proportions 
and  meanings,  I  do  not  want  the  earth ;  its  rivers  are  too  shallow, 
its  oceans  too  small,  its  space  is  a  prison :  I  want  heaven.  This 
comes  of  our  training  in  things  inferior  and  minor  and  pre- 
liminary, if  we  rightly  accept  that  training.  The  man  who  starts 
with  the  promise  that  he  shall  have  gold  at  the  end,  if  that  man 
should  live  well,  and  be  industrious  with  a  mind  that  is  honest, 
when  he  comes  to  the  gold  he  will  say.  There  is  something 
beyond  this  ;  I  am  thankful  enough  for  it  in  the  meantime,  but  is 
there  not  a  fine  gold,  a  gold  twice  refined  ?  Is  there  not  some 
spiritual  reward  ?  O  clouds  I  open,  and  let  me  see  what  is 
above,  for  I  feel  that  there,  even  in  the  great  height,  must  be  the 
gold  that  would  satisfy  me.  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  fine  gold  ;  seek 
wisdom ;  get  understanding ;  for  the  merchandise  of  it  is  better 
than  silver  and  better  and  richer  than  gold. 

Then  does  Job  simply  die  ?  The  Hebrew  ends  here,  but  the 
Septuagint  adds  a  very  wonderful  verse — "And  Job  died,  old 
and  full  of  days ;  and  it  is  written  that  he  will  rise  again  with 
those  whom  the  Lord  raiseth."  There  needed  some  touch  of 
immortality  to  complete  the  tragedy.  Is  there  no  immortality 
in  the  Old  Testament?  I  hold  that  there  is  immortality  in 
the  very  creation  of  man :  to  be  a  man  is  to  be  immortal. 
Where  is  it  said,  "  The  Lord  made  man  rational "  ?  any  more 
than  it  is  said,  '*  God  made  man  immortal "  ?  Everything  is 
said  in  this  word — "  In  the  image  of  God  created  he  him." 
That  is  reason ;    that  is   responsibility ;    that   is  immortality ; 


Jobxlii.  7-17.]    EXALTATION  AND  DEATH  OF  JOB,     415 

that  is  but  minor  divinity.  Have  we  laid  the  right  emphasis 
upon  the  word  "  man "  when  we  read  of  his  creation  ?  It 
would  be  a  most 'noticeable  thing,  amounting  to  a  conviction  of 
the  righteousness  and  goodness  of  God,  if  the  Gentiles  knew 
the  doctrine  of  immortality  when  the  patriarchs  and  Jews  had 
been  denied  the  realisation  of  that  opportunity.  Long  before 
Christ  came,  and  in  countries  where  the  name  of  Christ  had 
never  been  mentioned  until  within  recent  years,  the  doctrine 
of  immortality  was  affirmed.  Plato,  the  most  spiritual  of  the 
philosophers,  believed  in  life  after  death ;  Socrates  with  all 
his  accumulated  wisdom  taught  the  doctrine  of  life  after  death ; 
in  the  Indian  philosophies  we  find  the  declaration  of  a  belief 
in  life  after  death  :  these  Gentiles  were  groping  in  darkness, 
or  in  twihght  at  best :  wondrous  if  Plato,  Socrates,  and  some 
of  the  great  heathen  thinkers  in  other  lands  had  discovered 
the  doctrine  of  immortality  which  was  hidden  from  the  men  who 
were  specially  chosen  of  God  to  be  the  custodians  of  the  truth, 
the  depositaries  of  the  very  principles  of  the  Church.  I  take  it 
therefore,  rather,  that  the  whole  doctrine  of  immortality  is 
assumed,  as  is  the  reason  of  man,  as  is  the  responsibility  of 
man ;  that  it  is  involved  in  the  very  constitution  of  man.  It  is 
not  my  belief  that  God  made  man  mortal.  He  made  man,  as  to 
his  thought  and  purpose,  immortal :  for  man  was  made  in  the 
image  of  his  Maker.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  condition  of 
Old  Testament  saints,  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  position 
of  man  now,  for  life  and  immortality  have  been  brought  to  light 
in  the  gospel.  Jesus  Christ  boldly  proclaimed  the  great  doctrine 
of  life  after  death,  and  he  brought  hfe  and  immortality  to  light ; 
he  did  not  create  a  new  epoch,  introduce  a  new  series  of  thoughts, 
but  he  threw  light  upon  ancient  obscurities,  and  showed  what 
marvellous  assumptions  had  underlain  the  whole  scheme  of 
history  and  providence.  "  This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast 
sent/'  "Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  which  according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us 
again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by 
the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation."    This  is  our  joy 


4l6  THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE,  Job xlii.  7-17]. 

— supreme,  triumphant  joy.  "This  corruptible  must  put  on 
incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality.  So  when 
this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal 
shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 
saying  that  is  written.  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  O 
death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  " 
The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death,  and  that  which 
shall  be  left  shall  be  immortality,  which  being  interpreted  from 
the  standpoint  of  Christ's  cross  means,  not  only  longer  life,  but 
larger  hfe,  purer  life,  life  consecrated  to  all  high  service,  still 
finding  its  heaven  in  obedience,  still  finding  its  beginning  and  its 
ending  in  the  eternal  God, 


•'HANDFULS    OF    PURPOSE,' 

FOR  ALL  GLEANERS. 


"  Thus  did  Job  continually'*— 1o'&  i.  5. 

Many  persons  do  good  occasionally. 
— It  is  easy  to  be  good  outwardly  on 
ceremonial  occasions  :  it  is  to  be  in  the 
fashion;  it  is  to  be  running  along  the 
rut  of  custom ;  not  indeed  to  appear  to 
be  good  under  such  circumstances 
would  be  to  incur  opprobrium. — Church- 
going  may  be  an  occasional  exercise  ; 
prayer  may  be  an  intermittent  enjoy- 
ment.— The  characteristic  excellence  of 
Job's  worship  was  that  it  was  perma- 
nent, aintinuous,  unbroken,  proceeding 
wfth  the  regularity  of  life,  and  com- 
pleting itself  from  time  to  time  like  a 
piece  of  concerted  music. — We  are 
exhorted  to  pray  without  ceasing. — 
The  apostle  desires  us  in  everything 
by  prayer  and  supplication  to  make 
known  our  requests  unto  God. — Exer- 
cise in  such  holy  worship  is  like  exercise 
in  everything  else :  it  strengthens  the 
faculties ;  it  encourages  the  soul ;  it 
tends  towards  perfectness. — We  should 
read  the  Bible  continually,  that  is  to 
say,  it  should  be  the  man  of  our  counsel, 
the  companion  of  our  day-march,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  our  solitude  ;  it  is  not 
to  be  read  here  and  there,  intermittently, 
eclectically,  but  is  to  be  studied  through- 
out in  all  its  proportion  and  hamony. 
— People  do  not  get  good  by  going  to 
church  once :  a  single  shower  upon  the 
earth  is  of  little  consequence ;  the  great 
VOL.    XI. 


rain  consists  in  shower  upon  shower, 
the  water  coming  down  for  the  time 
being  continuously,  copiously,  and  as  it 
were  hospitably,  feeding  and  nourishing 
the  earth. — It  is  by  patient  continuance 
in  well-doing  that  we  are  to  achieve 
glojy,  honour,  and  immortality,  and  to 
put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish 
men,  showing  that  our  good-doing  is 
not  a  spasmodic  feeling  or  action,  but 
is  the  very  breath  and  energy  of  the 
soul,  the  sweet  and  gracious  necessity 
of  the  new  life  that  is  within  us.— To 
be  irregular  in  sacrifice,  in  worship,  in 
devotion,  in  service,  is  to  be  irregular 
in  the  heart-beat  of  love  towards  God. 
— Who  does  not  regret  the  irregular 
action  of  the  heart,  even  from  a  physical 
point  of  view  ?  What,  then,  shall  be 
said  of  irregularity  of  heart -act  ion  in 
reference  to  spiritual  loyalty  and  con- 
tinuity in  the  exhibition  and  enjoyment 
of  a  holy  life  ?— But  there  is  no  con- 
tinuance in  ourselves ;  "we  all  do  fade 
as  a  leaf;"  our  poor  little  life  plays 
itself  out  :  what,  then,  is  to  be  done? 
Underneath,  our  life  must  be  connected 
with  the  Fountain  of  all  being  ;  it  must 
be  identified  with  God  in  Christ  and 
through  Christ,  as  the  branch  is  part  of 
the  vine.  —Hear  the  Lord  Jesus : 
*•  Abide  in  me  .  . .  without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing  ;  " — hear  the  Apostle  Paul : 
"  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengtheneth  me." — All  the 
27 


4i8 


THE  PEOPLE*  S  BIBLE, 


passages  which  exhort  to  godly  life 
exhort  also  to  its  continuance:  **Be 
thou  faithful  until  death,  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  crown  of  life  : "  **  He  that 
endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved." 
— The  Bible  is  full  of  such  animating 
and  encouraging  speech. 


*'  Whence  contest  thou  ?  "—Job  L  7. 

This,  indeed,  is  the  great  puzzle  of 
metaphysical  and  spiritual  life. — There 
is  a  certain  degree  of  comfort  in  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  Lord  himself  who 
put  the  question  to  our  great  enemy : 
"Satan,  whence  comest  thou?" — We 
know  that  it  was  not  because  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  origin  and  purposes  of 
the  enemy,  but  we  may  accommodate 
the  question  to  express  our  own  feeling 
and  wonder  in  relation  thereto. — Who 
has  not  dwelt  upon  the  origin  of  evil  ? 
How  the  question  has  taxed  the  resources 
of  the  philosopher  and  the  theologian  ! 
— The  enemy  himself  refers  to  locality 
and  action  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  thus  even  in  his  reply  to  God  he 
would  seem  to  evade  the  profoundest 
relations  of  the  inquiry.— We  do  not 
ask,  Whence  comest  thou?  as  inquiring 
into  the  last  place  of  visitation  or  the 
last  instance  of  assault  or  seduction  : 
we  ask  concerning  the  very  origin  of 
evil,  the  root  and  core,  the  very  begin- 
ning, the  genesis  of  all  that  is  false, 
impure,  corrupt — Let  us  be  on  our 
guard  lest  we  press  this  inquiry  too  far. 
— Undoubtedly  it  is  an  inquiry  of  pro- 
foundest interest,  and  may  therefore 
profitably  occupy  reverential  attention 
for  a  time. — There  is,  however,  a  still 
greater  question — namely,  how  to  get 
rid  of  evil. — As  a  matter  of  mournful 
fact,  evil  is  in  the  world,  Satan  is  a 
great,  dark,  overshadowing  figure  in  all 
our  personal  and  social  life  :  the  ques- 
tion, therefore,  is  not  so  much  whence 
he  came  as  how  to  get  rid  of  his  person- 
ality  and    influence    and    destructive 


ministry. — It  is  possible  to  be  more 
anxious  about  the  origin  of  evil  than 
about  its  extinction.  Practical  men 
must  direct  attention  to  the  means 
which  have  been  set  up  according  to 
revelation  for  the  extirpation  of  the 
enemy  and  all  his  works. — When  he 
comes  he  does  not  necessarily  come  as 
a  conqueror  ;  we  must  not  suppose  that 
there  is  no  answer  to  his  seductions  and 
no  escape  from  his  wiles  :  '*  Resist  the 
devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you ; " 
"  Take  unto  you  the  whole  armour  of 
God." — The  question  may  be  treated 
metaphysically,  and  dealt  with  on  the 
broad  grounds  of  human  history  and 
general  experience  j  but  let  every  man 
attack  the  question  as  related  to  his 
own  heart :  there  the  devil  often  sits  : 
there  he  revels  in  triumph  j  there  he 
seems  to  have  everything  his  own  way. 
— Whatever  may  be  said  of  demoniacal 
possession  as  revealed  in  the  New 
Testament,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  it 
as  to  the  fact  of  evil  influences  operating 
directly  and  disastrously  in  every  human 
heart. — Here  we  need  all  the  resources 
of  revelation,  all  the  helps  of  pastoral 
encouragement  and  friendly  sympathy, 
all  that  can  be  done  by  mutual  Christian 
love. — To  dispossess  one's  soul  of  the 
devil  is  to  bring  that  soul  into  light 
and  liberty  and  prospect  of  eternal 
blessedness. 


"  And  there  came  a  messenger  unto  Job ^* 
Job  L  14. 

As  a  matter  of  literal  interpretation 
this  was  simple  enough  ;  but  regarded 
suggestively  the  thought  admits  of  large 
and  useful  expansion. — Messengers  are 
always  coming  to  men;  if  not  living 
messengers,  living  messages — impulses, 
words  of  exhortation,  encouragement, 
warning,  the  whole  ministry  of  truth  and 
light. — A  voice  came  to  Samuel  in  the 
darkness;  we  have  seen  already  in  earlier 
studies  how  many  anonymous  ministries 


**HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE. 


419 


there  are  in  life, — men  coming  in  the 
darkness,  figures  appearing  in  visions, 
voices  heard  in  dreams,  events  forcing 
themselves  upon  religious  attention. — 
There  are  many  practical  messengers 
coming  to  the  cry  of  the  heart  every 
day :  messengers  of  poverty,  pain,  be- 
reavement ;  men  requiring  intellectual 
help,  spiritual  comfort,  commercial 
direction :  children  needing  to  be 
trained,  nurtured,  directed,  stimulated 
in  right  paths,  protected  from  diabolical 
assaults. — "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear." — Providence  itself  is  a 
great  messenger  and  a  great  message. — 
If  we  choose  to  play  the  fool  we  can 
deafen  ourselves  to  every  voice  and 
blind  ourselves  to  every  token  :  we  can 
go  up  and  down  the  earth  saying  that 
we  hear  nothing,  see  nothing  ;  that  we 
are  practical,  and  that  we  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  the  emotions  of  the  soul,  the 
peculiar  actions  that  stir  the  inner  being. 
— That  certainly  is  one  way  of  living  ; 
it  is  the  poorest,  meanest  way  of  all ; 
it  is  the  way  of  the  flower  that  has  but 
a  small  root,  and  because  there  is  no 
deepness  of  earth  it  will  soon  wither 
away. — He  who  dwells  in  daily  com- 
munion with  God  fears  no  messenger 
who  can  come  to  him,  even  with  evil 
news. — The  fear  of  God  takes  away  all 
other  fear. — The  surprise  of  the  saintly 
soul  is  but  a  superficial  or  transient 
wonder ;  it  does  not  affect  the  fountain 
and  reality  of  his  faith. — "  If  thou  for- 
bear to  deliver  him  that  is  drawn  unto 
death,  God  will  judge  thee ;  if  thou 
sayest,  Behold,  I  knew  it  not,  he  that 
searcheth  the  heart  will  bring  thee  to 
the  judgment  seat." — To  the  man  who 
listens  there  is  many  an  appeal ;  to  the 
man  who  is  wakeful  there  is  many  a 
passing  vision  from  which  he  can  learn 
abiding  truths. — A  messenger  has  come 
to  every  one  of  us  to"  declare  the 
everlasting  gospel.  He  flies  abroad  in 
the  midst  of  heaven  ;  he  proclaims  his 
truth  regardless  of  age,  condition,  or 


estate ;  his  message  is  to  every  creature 
under  heaven  :  it  is  a  me^ge  charged 
with  good  news,  meant  X.6'  redeem  and 
save  and  bless  the  heart. — Happy  is  the 
man  who  sees  this  messenger,  and  hears 
him,  and  provides  for  him  a  guest- 
chamber  in  his  heart 


" .    .    .  none  spake  a  word  unto  him^ 
—Job  ii.  13. 

There  are  silent  friends. — We  must 
not  suppose  that  all  our  friends  are 
human. — Oftentimes  the  greatest  friend 
a  man  can  have  in  sorrow  is  silent  yet 
ever-eloquent  Nature. — The  mountain 
can  do  more  for  some  men  than  can  be 
done  by  the  most  elaborate  controversy. 
God  himself  called  upon  Jacob  to  look 
up  and  behold  the  host  of  heaven,  and 
draw  lessons  from  that  great  army  of 
stars. — The  Psalmist  also  was  accus- 
tomed to  turn  his  eyes  in  the  same 
direction  that  he  might  learn  great 
life-lessons  and  be  soothed  and  com- 
forted by  the  quietness  of  Nature. — 
But  these  were  men  who  came  to  Job, 
and  they  showed  their  wisdom  by  their 
silence. — What  can  words  do  in  the 
supreme  agony  of  life  ? — Do  not  let  a 
man  suppose  that  he  is  useless  because 
he  cannot  talk  largely  and  fluently. — 
Men  may  imagine  that  if  they  could 
go  forth  well-armed  with  arguments 
and  gifted  with  high  eloquence  they 
would  soothe  and  bless  the  world. 
Nothing  of  the  kind. — Never  forget  the 
potency  of  silence,  the  magic  of  word- 
less sympathy. — There  is  a  touch  of  the 
hand  that  conveys  impressions  to  the 
mind  which  no  words  could  convey. 
There  are  also  deeds  so  subtle  and 
delicate  and  far-reaching  in  their  mean- 
ing that  they  comfort  the  heart  without 
disturbing  the  ear  or  calling  for  any 
audible  reply.  It  is  a  blessed  experi- 
ence to  be  forced  to  silence. — Silent 
prayer  is  sometimes  the  most  effectual 
of  all. — So  long  as  we  can  express  our* 


420 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


selves  fluently  in  words  our  fluency  may 
but  represeiwthe  shallowness  of  our 
feeling. — Onlf 'those  should  speak  who 
know  what  to  say. — The  best-meant 
word,  if  uttered  in  a  wrong  tone,  may 
exasperate  the  sorrow  it  was  intended 
to  soothe. — How  good  are  right  words  ! 
How  pleasant  and  useful  is  divinely- 
inspired  speech  ! — Sometimes  a  man  is 
encouraged  by  seeing  his  friends  over- 
whelmed by  the  grief  which  he  bears  : 
it  touches  his  own  sense  of  heroism  ;  he 
feels  that  he  has  to  exemplify  certain 
virtues  and  graces  which  are  supposed 
to  characterise  religious  life. — Yet  there 
is  a  time  to  speak. — If  we  cannot  speak 
directly  to  the  grief  we  would  comfort, 
we  may  speak  generally,  and  so  include 
the  one  specific  object  with  the  neces- 
sities of  the  whole  world.— Men  may 
not  like  to  be  addressed  directly  and 
personally,  yet  they  may  not  object  to 
listen  to  a  general  appeal  which  includes 
their  own  particular  case. — When  grief 
silences  men,  oppression  should  never 
take  away  their  speech,  nor  should 
wrong-doing  of  any  kind. — We  are 
never  to  sit  down  beside  the  sin  of  the 
world  silently  because  we  see  that  the 
sin  is  very  great ;  the  greatness  of  the 
sin  should  stir  us  into  protest,  denuncia- 
tion, and  then  to  gospel-preaching. — 
■The  majesty  of  God  should  be  treated 
with  silent  reverence,  yet  there  must  be 
breaks  in  that  silence,  for  we  cannot 
withhold  the  hymn  of  praise,  the  ascrip- 
tion of  adoration,  and  the  declaration 
of  filial  trust  and  faithfulness. — **  The 
Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple  :  let  all  the 
earth  keep  silence  before  him,"— there 
is  a  period  when  silence  is  the  best 
worship,  but  there  is  also  a  period  when 
speech  is  an  imperative  duty. — What 
self-humiliation  a  man  must  experience 
who  has  allowed  an  opportunity  to  pass 
away  without  denouncing  wrong,  pro- 
testing against  evil,  and  making  declara- 
tion of  the  right  under  trying  circum- 
stances.— In  addressing  grief,   we  can 


never  be  wrong  in  adopting  spiritual 
language. — Always  have  recourse  to  the 
holy  Book  for  words  of  sympathy  and 
condolence  ;  they  are  venerable,  they 
are  lofty,  they  are  full  of  reverence  and 
tenderness,  and  they  have  been  well 
tested  in  many  generations. — We  should 
at  least  begin  with  the  language  which 
we  find  in  the  Bible ;  if  by-and-by  we 
care  to  add  a  word  of  our  own,  or 
enlarge  the  meaning  of  the  divine  word, 
so  be  it ;  but  every  human  heart  responds 
in  the  hour  of  its  agony  to  the  solemn 
eloquence  of  Holy  Writ. — The  Bible 
was  written  for  men  who  are  in  grief ;  it 
approaches  the  soul  without  intruding 
upon  us  ;  it  is  eloquent  without  being 
noisy  ;  it  is  majestic  without  being  over- 
powering.— In  the  darkest  hours  of  our 
life  the  Bible  us  the  best  witness  to  its 
own  inspiration. 


•• ,    .    *it  touchetk  tkef,  and  thou  art 
troubled'' ^o^  iv.  5. 

This  is  the  same  in  all  human  experi- 
ence.— It  is  easy  to  carry  the  burdens 
of  others. — It  may  be  quite  delightful 
to  speak  to  men  who  are  suffering  as  to 
the  way  in  which  they  should  bear 
themselves  in  the  hour  of  trial. — He 
can  best  sympathise  who  has  most 
suffered.— It  is  one  thing  to  see  sorrow 
at  a  distance,  and  another  to  admit  it 
into  the  innermost  room  in  our  own 
house  and  live  within  it  night  and  day. 
— These  are  the  times,  however,  when 
we  can  show  our  true  spiritual  quality. 
— So  long  as  the  affliction  was  at  a 
distance  we  merely  talked  about  it, 
but  when  it  came  near  us  we  felt  it, 
and  under  the  agony  of  our  feeling  we 
showed  what  our  souls  were  really 
trusting  to. — Well-borne  trial  is  the 
finest  'argument  that  can  be  set  up  on 
behalf  of  the  grace  of  God. — The  pro- 
mises of  Scripture  are  not  so  many 
jewels  to  be  worn  as  a  necklace ;  they 


'*  HANJDFULS  OF  PURPOSE.** 


421 


are  to  be  appropriated,  and  to  become 
part  of  our  very  selves,  giving  us 
strength,  patience,  dignity,  so  that  even 
the  smell  of  fire  shall  not  pass  upon  us 
when  we  go  through  the  furnace  of 
trial. — He  c^n  preach  best  who  has  had 
largest  experience,  it  may  be  even  of 
ill-health,  loss,  disappointment,  and 
bereavement. — He  also  can  read  the 
Bible  best  who  has  passed  through 
similar  experience. — Every  trial  that 
comes  to  us  furnishes  an  opportunity 
through  which  the  soul  can  show  the 
fulness  of  the  grace  of  heaven. — If 
Christian  men  fall  down  in  trial,  what 
are  un- Christian  men  to  think  of  them 
and  of  their  faith?  If  the  very  sons  and 
princes  of  God  quail  in  the  day  of 
adversity  as  do  other  men,  what,  then, 
has  their  religion  done  for  them?  By 
their  depression,  their  fear,  their  want 
of  light  and  hope,  they  not  only  show 
their  own  nature,  they  actually  bring 
discredit  upon  the  very  religion  which 
they  profess.—  How  did  such  men  come 
to  take  up  with  such  a  religion?  What 
pos^ible  motive  could  they  have  for 
identifying  themselves  with  a  faith 
which,  beyond  all  other  faiths,  is 
marked  by  heroic  characteristics  ? — 
Cowards  must  not  be  numbered  with 
those  who  follow  the  banner  of  the 
brave. —Some  men  have  been  greater 
in  affliction  than  they  have  ever  been  in 
prosperity. — Their  friends  did  not  know 
them  as  to  their  real  quality  until 
they  were  called  upon  to  carry  heavy 
burdens,  and  to  be  tried  by  perils  in 
the  city,  and  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  perils  on  the  sea,  and  perils 
amongst  false  brethren, — it  was  amidst 
such  testing  perils  that  the  true 
quality  of  the  spirit  was  disclosed,  and 
that  many  a  man  who  was  thought 
timid  and  frail  discovered  himself  to  be 
a  very  giant  in  the  family  of  God. — 
There  is  another  aspect  of  the  case 
which  enables  us  to  addiess  men  who 
are  sensitive  themselves  whilst  encourag- 


ing other  men  to  be  noble  and  brave 
under  assault. — The  men  referred  to 
exhort  others  not  to  take  heed  of 
neglect  or  insult  or  dishonour ;  they  say 
those  who  suffer  from  such  attacks 
ought  to  be  above  them,  ought  not  to 
resent  them,  ought  to  treat  them  with 
moderation  and  perhaps  with  occasional 
contempt :  but  how  is  it  when  the  very 
same  attacks  are  made  upon  them- 
selves ?  Then  how  energetic  they  are  in 
repelling  them,  how  sensitive  to  every 
unkind  word,  how  strong  in  their  self- 
love,  how  violent  in  their  self-conceit ! 
— Example  is  better  than  precept. — To 
exhort  another  man  to  be  magnanimous 
is  not  half  so  good  as  to  be  magna- 
nimous under  trial  of  any  kind. 


"  Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brought  to 
mey — Job  iv.  12. 

Things  which  are  so  brought  are  often 
the  best  things. — They  are  not  meant 
for  the  bodily  eye,  which  can  see  but 
imperfectly,  but  for  the  vision  of  the 
soul,  which,  where  the  character  is  good, 
is  strong  and  clear. — We  call  the  sum 
of  our  experiences,  "impressions," 
"feelings,"  "impulses,"  "tendencies  ;  " 
we  are  afraid  to  characterise  or  define 
them  by  some  positively  religious  name. 
— Who,  for  example,  dare  say  he 
was  inspired?  Who  has  suff.cient 
religious  boldness  to  say  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  fell  upon  him,  and  taught  him 
this  or  that,  or  awakened  his  faculties 
to  such  and  such  an  exercise? — Tho  e 
who  are  believers  in  the  Bible  ought  to 
have  no  hesitation  in  using  religious 
teims  for  the  definition  of  religious 
impressions. — Inspiration  is  always 
a  secret  communication. — The  Spirit 
of  God  steals,  so  to  speak,  upon  the 
spirit  of  man,  suddenly,  in  darkness, 
in  out-of-the-way  places,  and,  commun- 
ing with  him,  transforms  him  into  a  new 
being,  increasing  his  faculties  both  in 


423 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


number  and  strength,  and  clothing  him 
with  new  and  beneficent  power. — 
When  a  good  impulse  stirs  the  heart, 
better  trace  it  to  a  high  origin  than  to 
a  low  one. — When  we  are  moved  in  the 
direction  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  good  of 
others  we  should  instantly  seal  the  action 
of  the  Spirit  with  the  name  of  God,  and 
thus  give  it  sanctity  and  nobleness,  and 
turn  it  into  an  imperative  and  gracious 
obligation. — When  a  man  supposes  any- 
thing has  been  secretly  brought  to  him 
from  heaven,  it  was  not  meant  that  it 
should  be  locked  up  in  his  own  heart ; 
the  very  man  who  says  that  a  secret 
message  was  delivered  to  him  now 
begins  to  speak  of  it  and  to  relate  it  all 
in  graphic  detail. — We  should  repeat 
this  experience. — Who  has  not  had 
conviction  of  sin  ?— Who  has  not  known 
the  mysterious  action  of  conscience  ? — 
Who  has  not  felt  deeply  and  irresistibly 
that  this  world  is  not  all,  but  that  upon 
the  horizon  of  time  there  gleams  the 
beginning  of  eternity? — We  should 
speak  of  these  better  impulses,  these 
religious  exhortations  and  ecstasies ;  we 
should  never  be  ashamed  of  them,  but 
hold  them  as  in  our  personal  trust  for 
the  benefit  of  the  common  family  of 
man. — Great  ideas  were  never  meant  to 
be  merely  personal  possessions  ;  "  There 
is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet, 
but  it  tendeth  to  poverty  " — intellectu- 
ally and  spiritually  as  well  as  financially. 
"He  that  watereth  shall  be  watered 
also  himself." — Make  no  secret  of  your 
best  ideas,  your  noblest  impulses,  your 
highest  enthusiasms ;  tell  them  to 
others  ;  the  very  stating  of  them  may 
be  as  the  declaration  of  gospels,  the 
revelations  of  the  unseen  kingdom  of 
Christ. — Of  course  the  wise  man  will 
not  throw  his  pearls  before  swine  ;  he 
will  study  circumstances,  opportunities, 
and  conditions  ;  the  very  spirit  that 
brought  the  secret  thing  to  him  will 
indicate  the  right  time  and  place  under 
which  he  is  to  nuke  revelations    of  I 


what  he  has  seen  and  known  and 
handled  of  the  word  of  life. — Some 
gospels  are  to  be  preached  to  solitary 
persons;  other  gospels  are  to  be 
thundered  as  it  were  from  mountain- 
tops,  and  to  be  made  known  in  all 
their  majesty  and  grandeur  and  bene- 
ficence to  the  whole  family  of  mankind. 
— The  heart  at  once  identifies  messages 
which  have  been  brought  from  heaven  ; 
there  is  no  disguising  or  perverting  such 
messages  so  as  to  obliterate  their  iden- 
tity.— Even  when  but  poorly  delivered 
there  is  something  about  them  which 
declares  a  heavenly  origin. — This  is 
emphatically  so  with  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. — Even  when  men 
are  tempted  to  ridicule  it,  they  seem  to 
be  trifling  with  a  temple,  to  be  bringing 
into  disdain  the  noblest  tower  ever 
built  upon  the  earth  and  reaching  to 
heaven. — There  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and 
the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth 
him  understanding. — Perhaps  even  the 
commonest  soul  knows  true  music  from 
false  :  there  is  something  in  it  which 
claims  a  species  of  kinship  with  the 
man  and  awakens  him  into  a  new  and 
blessed  consciousness. 


"I  have  seen  the  foolish  taking  root,** — 
Job  v.  3. 

This  calls  us  to  the  curious  sights  in 
human  life.— There  are  sights  that  are 
surprising,  delightful,  unexpected,  over- 
whelming.— The  sight  which  most  puz- 
zles the  good  man  is  that  the  foolish 
take  root,  and  that  the  vicious  should 
prosper. — A  good  man  can  make  some- 
thing of  almost  every  other  sight  in  the 
world,  but  this  overwhelms  him  with 
dismay.  It  seems  to  be  against  the  fit- 
ness of  things  ;  it  seems  to  discourage 
all  attempts  at  virtue  ;  it  seems  to  offer 
a  premium  to  vice. — This  was  the  diffi- 
culty of  Asaph ;  he  says  his  feet  had 
well-nigh  gone  when  he   beheld   the 


'•HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSEr 


423 


prosperity  of  the  foolish  and  listened  to 
the  revels  of  the  wicked,  for  there  were 
no  bands  in  their  death,  they  had  more 
than  heart  could  wish,  their  eyes  stood 
out  with  fatness. — This  is  not  an  enemy 
who  is  bearing  witness  against  Pfovi- 
dence,  it  is  a  good  man  who  is  setting 
down  -what  he  has  seen  as  a  simple 
matter  of  fact. — He  would  not  have 
been  so  surprised  if  he  had  seen  the 
foolish  flaming  for  a  moment  like  a 
rocket,  making  a  dash  of  display  which 
perished  in  its  own  action ;  nor  would 
he  have  complained  perhaps  if  the  foolish 
had  made  an  occasional  success  in  life  : 
the  thing  which  troubled  him  was  that 
he  had  seen  the  foolish  taking  root,  as 
if  they  were  going  to  abide  on  the  earth 
and  come  to  maturity  of  power. — We 
must  not  ignore  the  difficult  facts  of 
Providence,  but  we  must  not  limit  our 
view  to  facts  as  we  see  them,  or  as  they 
lie  upon  the  surface ;  though  they  may 
be  all  that  we  can  see  with  our  bodily 
eyes,  yet  we  are  to  bring  our  religious 
reflection  to  bear  upon  the  case.  The 
world  is  old  enough  now  to  afford  us  a 
basis  of  reasoning  and  inference  respect- 
ing all  appearances,  combinations,  and 
phenomena  generally. — The  root-idea 
of  the  Christian  religion  is  that  God  is 
against  all  wickedness,  and  that  in  the 
long  run  he  will  overwhelm  it  and  bring 
it  to  its  appropriate  punishment. — Let 
us  be  well  grounded  in  that  fundamental 
principle. —If  we  could  for  a  moment 
doubt  the  reality  of  that  principle  our 
whole  faith  would  be  gone. — We  speak 
it  reverently  when  we  say  that  if  God 
could  cause  any  man  to  succeed  simply 
because  the  man  was  wicked,  his  claim 
to  human  confidence  would  be  destroyed. 
— Here,  then,  lies  the  great  basis-prin- 
ciple, that  the  eternal  God  is  against 
evil,  and  is  pledged  to  the  extinction  of 
wickedness. — In  view  of  this  principle, 
what  becomes  of  all  apparent  success 
and  root-taking,  and  honour,  and  in- 
fluence, and  pomp  ?    These  things  are 


but  indications  that  the  judgment  will 
be  of  equal  magnitude,  and  will  come 
even  more  suddenly  than  the  success  is 
supposed  to  have  come. — Meanwhile 
the  difficulty  is  a  great  one,  and  there 
are  circumstances  under  which  men 
need  all  their  deepest  religious  convic- 
tions to  sustain  them  in  the  presence  of 
providences  which  seem  to  be  dead 
against  the  assertion  and  progress  of 
truth  and  justice. — Sad  is  the  case  of 
heathen  nations ;  sadder  still  is  the  con- 
dition of  nations  which  are  partially 
Christian,  and  which  turn  Christian 
civilisation  itself  into  a  means  of  extend- 
ing their  wickedness. — Sometimes  we 
wonder  how  God  can  sit  in  the  heavens 
and  behold  it  all ;  we  are  troubled  that 
he  does  not  awake,  so  to  speak,  and 
come  down  in  judgment  that  cannot  be 
mistaken,  and  rectify  relations  that  are 
thrown  out  of  course. — Many  a  grief  of 
this  kind  we  have  to  hide  in  our  own 
heart.  Yet  why  should  we  hide  our 
griefs  in  view  of  providences  which  we 
cannot  understand  ?  Let  us  go  back  to 
history.  Let  us  be  faithful  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  great  breadths  of  human 
experience,  and  in  all  cases  it  will  be 
seen  that,  however  mysterious  the  pro- 
cess, God  has  in  the  end  vindicated 
goodness  and  repelled  from  the  throne 
of  righteousness  those  who  would  over- 
turn its  pillars. — Man  of  God,  take 
heart ;  the  trial  is  no  doubt  hard ;  things 
have  happened  in  one  day  which  in 
human  wisdom  would  have  happened 
exactly  in  the  other  way,  and  we  are 
dismayed,  confounded,  and  put  to 
silence,  when  we  see  how  great  is  the 
grief  of  honest  souls. — All  we  can  do  is 
to  recur  to  history,  to  pray  for  the  con- 
solidation of  our  faith,  for  the  increase 
of  our  spirit  of  patience  and  long-suffer- 
ing :  perhaps  the  longer  God  is  in 
coming  as  a  great  light,  the  brighter 
will  be  the  glory,  the  more  blessed  the 
vision,  when  it  does  arise  to  reward  our 
weary  waiting. 


4«4 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


**  Sit  taketk  the    wise    in    their   own 
craftiness^ — JOB  v.  13. 

No  doubt  there  are  men  who  call 
themselves  wise  who  do  not  believe  in 
God. — Let  us  not  consider  them  all 
fools  in  any  merely  intellectual  sense. — 
There  is  a  craft  which  prides  itself  on 
its  sagacity,  depth,  cleverness,  agility, 
and  boasts  itself  of  the  multitude  of  its 
resources. — God  often  gives  such  craft 
room  enough  for  its  own  display :  he 
allows  it  to  come  to  maturity  that  he 
may  abase  it  the  more  effectually. — God 
delights  to  throw  down  towers  that 
were  meant  to  reach  unto  heaven. — Call 
no  man  wise  until  his  plans  have  been 
thoroughly  matured  and  carried  out ; 
they  may  look  well  in  outline,  they  may 
begin  very  energetically,  they  may  seem 
to  carry  within  themselves  all  the  ele- 
ments of  success  ;  but  God  allows  the 
man  to  go  so  far,  until  he  can  make  an 
example  of  him. — Where  is  the  wicked- 
ness that  has  continued  from  age  to  age. 
to  prosper  ?  "Where  is  the  counsel  that 
has  really  thriven  as  against  God? 
Where  are  the  heathen  opponents  that 
have  not  been  broken  as  with  a  rod  of 
iron? — There  is  no  cleverness  that  can 
stand  against  true  wisdom. — The  dif- 
ference between  cleverness  and  wisdom 
is  a  difference  of  depth  and  quality  : 
they  do  not  belong  to  the  same  lineage 
or  line  of  things  ;  the  one  is  superficial, 
sparkling,  dashing,  claiming  attention 
by  its  loud  boastfulness,  a  sight  to  be 
gaped  at  and  wondered  about  and  for- 
gotten ;  but  wisdom  is  profound,  far- 
reaching,  calm,  taking  in  a  great  range 
of  view,  moving  by  a  long  line,  and 
justifying  itself  in  the  end  by  revelations 
which  never  came  within  the  purview 
of  mere  intellectual  cleverness. — The 
cleverness  of  the  world  has  never  dis- 
covered any  cure  for  the  world's  deepest 
diseases. — We  have  had  reforms  enough, 
guesses,  hypotheses,  theories,  specula- 
tions ;  but  it  never  lay  within  the  scope 


of  mere  cleverness  to  find  a  redemption 
that  would  meet  all  the  necessities  of 
sin  and  soothe  all  the  accusations  and 
agonies  of  conscience. — The  world  by 
wisdom  knew  not  God. — The  world  by 
cleverness  never  invented  a  world-wide 
gospel,  an  all-time  evangelisation ;  it 
lay  with  God  alone  to  reveal  a  plan  by 
which  all  human  calculations  were  up- 
set, all  human  cleverness  abashed,  and 
eternity  accommodated  to  the  nar- 
row limits  of  time,  and  all  heaven 
brought  to  supply  what  the  earth  needed 
in  its  supremest  distresses. — Let  us  be- 
ware of  cleverness  everywhere  ;  there  is 
nothing  in  it.  Let  us  rather  seek  for 
wisdom,  and  cry  for  understanding; 
searching  diligently  for  that  which  is 
more  precious  than  silver  and  gold,  and 
with  which  rubies  are  not  to  be  com- 
pared.— The  wisdom  of  this  world  is 
foolishness  with  God,  nor  can  it  stand 
in  the  day  of  final  judgment. — W^e  are 
of  yesterday,  and  know  nothing;  we 
see  only  parts  and  aspects  of  things  : 
how,  then,  can  we  provide  for  a  whole 
world,  and  for  all  the  exigencies  of 
time? 


**  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  full 
age.^' — ^JOB  V.  26. 

Wonderful  to  notice  how  light  and 
shade  mingle  in  Bible  story  and  in  the 
story  of  general  life. — "Thou  shalt 
come  to  thy  grave  "  is  a  solemn  warn- 
ing ;  but  when  it  is  added,  '*  in  full 
age, "  it  would  seem  as  if  the  solemnity 
were  relieved  by  a  beam  of  cheerful- 
ness.— The  two  statements  must  be 
taken  together,  if  we  would  do  justice 
to  the  providence  of  God.— To  look  at 
the  grave  alone  is  unfair  to  the  divine 
purpose ;  so  it  is  unfair  to  look  at 
crosses,  trials,  and  all  manner  of  dis- 
appointment and  discipline :  the  right 
view  will  take  in  all  the  circumstances, 
so  far  as  possible,  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end.— Interpreted  in  this  way. 


**HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


4^5 


providence  is  a  grand  disclosure  of  the 
righteousness,  love,  and  v/isdom  of 
God. — We  should  accustom  ourselves 
to  look  for  the  mitigations  of  human 
sorrow  or  disappointment. — The  eye 
that  is  always  on  the  outlook  for  such 
mitigations  will  find  a  plentiful  harvest 
in  the  providence  of  daily  life.  Where 
is  there  a  human  lot  that  has  not  some 
mitigation  of  his  burden  and  suffer- 
ing?— Sometimes,  indeed  the  sufferer  is 
more  apt  to  see  the  mitigation  than 
are  the  observers, — What  lies  heavily 
on  the  body  may  be  in  large  part 
counteracted  by  inborn  cheerfulness  of 
soul,  so  that  the  spirit  may  triumph 
over  the  flesh. — What  is  wanting  in 
one  region  of  life  may  be  more  than 
made  up  by  a  superabundance  of  good 
in  another. — The  great  lesson  is,  we 
are  always  to  look  for  whatever  can 
mitigate,  lessen,  or  in  any  way  throw  a 
gleam  of  happiness  upon  the  distresses 
of  life. — Think  of  a  completed  course, 
such  as  is  sketched  in  the  text. — There 
is  always  more  or  less  of  beauty  in  com- 
pleteness. It  is  when  the  column  is 
broken  in  two  that  it  appeals  to  us 
pathetically. — When  the  column  is 
completed  we  admire  and  wonder,  and 
are  filled  with  gladness  because  of  the 
fitness  of  things  :  something  in  the 
human  spirit  responds  to  outward 
harmony  :  there  can  be  no  true  har- 
mony where  there  is  incompleteness  or 
failure  of  design. — We  may  not  come 
to  our  grave  "  in  full  age,"  for  that 
is  an  Old  Testament  term ;  but  we 
may  come  to  our  grave  in  full  cha- 
racter, in  full  preparedness,  meet  for 
the  Master's  use,  content  to  leave  the 
earth,  yea,  rather  desiring  to  flee  away 
from  it  and  be  at  rest  in  heaven. — 
Where  the  sense  of  immortality  is 
triumphant,  every  burden  of  life  is  not 
only  lessened  but  destroyed  ;  that  is  to 
say,  it  is  no  longer  felt  as  a  burden  ; 
we  endure  as  seeing  the  invisible  ;  we 
despise  the  shame  of  the  cross  because 


of  the  glory  that  is  soon  to  be  revealed. 
— A  sad  thing  when  the  only  com- 
pletion of  a  man  is  the  number  of  years 
which  he  has  lived. — Completeness  of 
age  should  suggest  completeness  of 
character. — The  old  man  should  be  fiill 
of  the  wisdom  of  experience,  even 
though  he  be  ignorant  of  the  know- 
ledge of  letters :  he  should  have  seen 
enough  of  life  to  justify  certain  broad 
practical  inferences  ;  and  without  being 
sated  with  life  he  should  feel  that 
he  has  had  enough  of  it  on  earth, 
should  it  be  God's  will  to  open  the 
gate  of  heaven  and  allow  him  to  enter 
into  its  service. — Seeing  there  is  an 
appointed  time  to  man  upon  the  earth 
— that  there  is  "  full  age  " — it  behoves 
man  to  reckon  the  number  of  his  dajrs, 
that  he  may  see  what  fortune  of  time 
he  has  to  spend,  and  so  invest  it  as  to 
make  the  largest  results  accrue. — No 
human  power  can  prevent  our  coming 
to  the  grave,  but  it  lies  very  much  with 
ourselves  to  say  whether  we  shall  come 
as  conquerors  or  as  conquered  men. 


**  The  things  that  my  soul  refused  to 
toiuh  are  as  my  sorrowful  meatP 
—Job.  vi.  7. 

Here  we  are  called  upon  to  recognise 
the  astounding  reverses  which  may  take 
place  in  life. — It  would  seem  as  if 
nothing  were  impossible  in  the  way  of 
human  reverses. — The  most  shocking 
events  become  commonplaces,  and  the 
things  that  are  most  dreaded  force  upon 
us  their  unwelcome  familiarity. — Some- 
times such  reverses  are  good  for  us. — 
The  dainty  soul  despises  all  common 
life,  all  democracy,  all  popular  associa- 
tion, aud  prefers  to  live  in  dignified 
solitude  or  in  luxurious  ease. — When 
such  a  soul  is  brought  by  poverty,  or 
ill-health,  or  any  other  circumstance, 
to  mingle  with  hitherto  despised  classes, 
not  unfrequently  those  classes  appear 
in  a  better  light  than  when  seen  from 


426 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


a  distance. — Many  a  man  has  been 
forced  to  a  better  interpretation  of 
society  by  the  loss  of  position  which 
gave  him  uniqueness  and  assured  him 
a  large  measure  of  ease  and  comfort. — 
We  can  only  be  fully  trained  to  the 
highest  life  by  being  changed  from  one 
position  to  another,  and  by  being  com- 
pelled to  associate  with  those  who  are 
supposed  to  be  beneath  us,  and  take 
part  in  service  which  has  always  been 
avoided  as  drudgery. — The  poor  present 
many  aspects  which  are  far  from  invit- 
ing to  ^e  rich  ;  yet  when  they  are 
approached  sympathetically  even  they 
can  contribute  a  good  deal  towards  the 
solid  comfort  and  real  progress  of  their 
nominal  superiors. — Even  disease,  which 
when  viewed  in  the  abstract  is  most 
repulsive  and  intolerable,  may  come  to 
create  a  kind  of  companionship  between 
itself  and  the  sufferer,  so  that  the  sufferer 
may  look  to  his  disease  for  instruction, 
chastening,  discipline,  and  many  moral 
advantages. — The  Psalmist  said:  It  was 
good  for  me  that  I  was  afflicted  :  before 
I  was  afflicted  I  went  astray. — He  did 
not  value  the  affliction  for  its  own  sake, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  things  which  it 
wrought  out  in  the  cultivation  and 
perfecting  of  his  character. — ^Job  did 
not  accept  the  discipline  with  gratitude 
when  he  declared  that  the  things  which 
his  soul  once  refused  had  become  his 
meat;  he  did  not  forget  to  add  the 
word  ''sorrowful";  so  the  text  stands 
as  we  find  it. — Nor  may  we  complain 
that  Job  did  not  at  once  reach  the 
highest  ideal  of  character,  assimilating 
things  evil  in  themselves,  and  accounting 
them  as  good ;  there  must  be  a  period  of 
training  :  for  who  can  be  at  once  fami- 
liar with  sorrow,  or  immediately  excite 
his  affections  in  the  interests  of  distress 
and  loss  and  pain  ? — Keep  in  view  the 
point,  that  we  may  suffer  the  most 
violent  reverses  in  fortune,  and  be 
compelled  altogether  to  change  our 
tastes  and  affinities. — We  are  not  sepa- 


rated from  any  form  of  disease  or  sorrow 
by  permanent  boundaries  :  now  we  are 
on  this  side,  and  now  we  are  on  that, 
and  oftentimes  it  would  appear  as  if 
we  had  no  control  over  our  position  or 
lot  in  life.— One  thing  we  can  do;  we 
can  discourage  the  spirit  of  contempt 
in  regard  to  those  whose  lot  is  heavy 
and  bitter,  and  see  in  them  what  we 
ourselves  may  one  day  be :  the  very 
thinnest  partition  divides  the  richest 
man  from  the  poorest:  the  strongest  man 
may  be  dead  to-morrow  :  one  lightning 
flash,  and  the  most  herculean  frame  may 
be  thrown  into  decrepitude  and  help- 
lessness.— So  we  must  learn  from  one 
another,  and  understand  that  the  highest 
and  the  lowest  are  related,  .and  that 
exchange  of  position  is  always  within 
the  range  of  possibility,  and  may  some- 
times be  necessary  to  the  perfecting  of 
our  spiritual  culture. 


".     .     ,     cause  me  to  understand  where' 
in  I  have  erred^ — ^JoB  vi.  24. 

Job  does  not  admit  his  error,  but 
inasmuch  as  he  is  suffering  as  if  he  had 
erred  he  wishes  to  have  the  mistake 
definitely  pointed  out. — All  unexplained 
suffering  is  made  the  larger  by  its  very 
mystery. — We  do  not  always  see  the 
errors  we  have  committed ;  sometimes 
they  require  to  be  distinctly  pointed  out 
by  him  against  whom  we  have  trans- 
gressed.—Error  is  not  broad,  vulgar, 
and  obvious,  in  all  its  manifestations. — 
Sometimes  it  is  spiritual,  subtle,  beyond 
the  reach  of  words,  and  wholly  invisible, 
except  when  high  moral  light  falls 
upon  it  from  above. — The  patriarch  is 
in  a  reasonable  mood,  inasmuch  as  he 
desires  to  have  his  understanding  en- 
lightened as  to  his  faults  ;  at  the  same 
time,  even  our  reasonableness  may  be 
barbed  with  a  cruel  sting :  the  soft 
tone  does  not  always  convey  the  soft 
meaning  :  even  in  this  exclamation  of 
the  sufferer  there  may  be  a  tone  ot  self- 


**HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE,** 


427 


complacency  or  even  of  defiance,  as 
who  should  say,  It  is  impossible  to 
charge  me  with  error  :  if  I  am  charge- 
able with  it,  let  me  know  what  it  is, 
for  I  have  no  consciousness  of  it,  and 
if  any  proof  can  be  furnished  it  will 
excite  my  surprise. — Men  are  not  quick 
to  see  their  own  errors. — Even  the  best 
man  requires  all  the  light  of  heaven  in 
which  to  see  himself  as  he  really  is. — 
Comparing  ourselves  with  ourselves,  we 
become  wise  in  our  own  conceit,  but 
comparing  ourselves  with  the  spiritual 
law  of  God,  we  see  that  even  our 
virtue  cannot  boast  to  be  without  stain 
or  flaw. — The  prayer  may  be  turned 
to  high  practical  uses  :  Search  me,  O 
God,  and  try  me,  and  see  if  there  be 
any  wicked  way  in  me. — We  must  get 
rid  of  the  deception  that  we  fully  and 
absolutely  see  ourselves  as  we  really 
are  :  every  day  we  need  God's  help  to 
show  us  our  true  character,  our  real 
motive,  our  complete  design. — We  can 
hide  many  things  under  a  false  exterior 
which  we  would  not  for  the  world 
expose  to  the  light  of  day. — We  must 
insist  upon  viewing  ourselves  in  the 
divine  light,  rather  than  judging  our- 
selves by  social  canons  and  conventional 
standards, — Let  us  go  to  God  for  full 
explanations  of  natural  mysteries,  per- 
sonal perplexities,  and  all  social  hin- 
drances and  vexations. — There  is  always 
more  in  a  case  of  this  kind  than  is 
obvious  on  the  surface. — All  inward 
trouble  does  not  indicate  itself  by  out- 
ward symptoms :  hence  we  need  the 
intervention  and  guidance  of  the  divine. 


"  /  Tvill  speak  in  the  anguish  of  my 
spirit''' — Job  vii.  11. 

This  is  natural,  but  unwise. — A  spirit 
that  is  in  anguish  cannot  take  a  fair 
and  full  view  of  any  question. — Anguish 
and  justice  can  hardly  dwell  together. — 
To  speak  in  an  agony  of  sorrow  is 
to  attach  undue  meanings  to  words,  to   < 


burden  them  with  unjust  weight,  and 
to  shut  out  elements  and  considerations 
which  are  essential  to  impartial  and 
philosophical  conclusions. — No  man 
ought  to  speak  in  the  anguish  of  his 
spirit  concerning  divine  providence ; 
otherwise  he  may  charge  God  foolishly, 
bringing  together  all  the  inequalities, 
severities,  and  miscarriages  of  life,  and 
urging  them  against  the  goodness  of 
divine  providence. — We  should  be  silent 
in  sorrow,  for  to  speak  without  self- 
control  is  to  speak  without  wisdom. — 
Let  him  speak  who  has  passed  through 
sorrow  and  seen  something  of  its  true 
purpose :  then  will  he  be  likely  to 
speak  with  the  sobriety  of  experience 
and  with  the  deep  feeling  of  sympathy. 
— We  could  not  speak  fairly  about  a 
friend  in  the  moment  in  which  he  has 
caused  us  grief  or  severe  anxiety ;  we 
should  fall  into  an  accusatory  strain 
and  charge  him  with  having  been  in- 
considerate if  not  cruel  towards  us. — 
Time  is  required  for  many  an  explana^ 
tion,  social  and  divine. — Sometimes 
we  boast  that  in  the  course  of  a  year 
or  two  the  friend  whom  we  have  now 
annoyed  or  grieved  will  see  the  wisdom 
of  our  course  and  thank  us  for  our 
decision  or  counsel :  in  the  strength 
of  this  we  support  ourselves,  sometimes 
indeed  we  plume  ourselves  with  pardon- 
able conceit  ;  and  when  in  the  lapse 
of  time  our  judgment  is  vindicated  we 
hail  our  friend  with  the  expectation 
that  he  will  bless  us  for  counsel  that 
appeared  to  be  unsympathetic  or  for 
a  decision  which  was  so  stem  as  to  be 
momentarily  cruel. — There  are  indeed 
countless  incidents  in  life  calculated 
to  bring  anguish  upon  the  spirit,  to 
excite  scepticism  in  the  heart,  and  to 
depose  faith  from  its  calm  and  absolute 
sovereignty  :  virtue  is  thrown  down  in 
the  streets,  vice  has  everything  its  own 
way,  men  who  never  pray  are  satisfied 
with  abundance,  and  thus  Providence 
appears  to  be  on  the  side  of  wickedness 


428 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


and  selfishness  of  every  degree. — Under 
such  circumstances  the  spirit  is  filled 
with  anguish,  and  when  it  speaks  it 
is  in  tones  of  disapprobation  or  fretful- 
ness  or  unbelief — We  should  pray  for 
the  calm  spirit,  for  the  spirit  of  patience 
and  longsufTering,  and  only  speak  after 
we  have  been  in  profound  and  con- 
tinuous communion  with  God.— Even 
a  believing  man,  when  he  allows  his 
anguish  to  dictate  his  speech,  may 
offend  against  God,  and  bring  discredit 
upon  the  altar  at  which  he  serves. — 
Let  us  understand  that  the  moment  of 
anguish  is  to  be  the  moment  of  silence, 
so  far  as  criticism  is  concerned. 


^*  Let  me  alone.^'— Job  vii.  16. 

Here,  again,  is  a  natural  exclamation, 
but  one  which  we  must  train  ourselves 
to  stifle. — No  man  can  be  let  alone  and 
yet  live  ;  in  other  words,  life  is  an 
expression  of  communion  and  not  of 
isolation. — It  is  pleasant  for  the  moment 
only  to  be  left  to  oneself ;  even  then  the 
pleasure  is  a  mere  sensation,  and  is  not 
the  expression  of  a  deep  and  permanent 
satisfaction. — Can  the  branch  say  to  the 
tree,  Let  me  alone?— Can  the  limb  say 
to  the  body,  Let  me  exist  by  myself? 
— Can  the  hand  live  without  being 
attached  to  the  heart?— Trace  every 
hUman  life  in  its  finest  expressions  and 
issues,  and  it  will  be  found  that  even 
the  most  lonely  are  not  without  associa- 
tion with  the  greatest,  yea,  even  with 
God  himself. — Sometimes,  for  a  mo- 
ment, we  may  wish  that  even  God 
himself  would  withdraw  from  us,  at 
least  in  all  controversial  and  judicial 
aspects  :  he  presses  us  with  too  many 
questions,  he  impoverishes  us  by  too 
many  demands,  he  exhausts  us  by 
appeals  too  numerous  to  be  answered. 
— When  we  ask  to  be  let  alone,  it  is 
our  weakness  that  speaks,  not  our 
strength  :  our  exhaustion,  not  our 
reason.— The   one    prayer    we    should 


constantly  offer  is,  not  to  be  let  alone, 
but  to  be  evermore  an  object  of  divine 
solicitude,  and  to  be  evermore  called 
upon  to  answer  divine  claims. — When 
God  lets  a  man  alone  the  man's  doom 
is  sealed. — In  the  Book  of  Amos  we  find 
the  words,  '*  Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols  : 
let  him  alone  " ; — preservation  from  this 
state  should  be  our  continual  and 
ardent  desire, — When  the  sun  lets  the 
earth  alone,  the  earth  is  chilled  into  ice. 
When  the  mother  lets  the  infant  alone, 
the  infant  dies. — Let  us  take  heart,  for 
all  the  controversy  through  which  we 
pass  is  but  so  much  discipline,  and  the 
end  of  all  discipline  sent  by  Heaven  and 
properly  accepted  by  man  is  culture, 
strength,  satisfaction. 

**  Though  thy  beginning  was  small^  yet 
thy  latter  end  should  greatly  iti' 
creased — ^Job  viii.  7. 

So  life  is  not  to  be  judged  by  its 
beginning,  but  by  its  end. — This  is 
true,  scientifically  as  well  as  morally. — 
We  need  not  doubt  that  the  beginning 
of  all  life  was  small :  but  who  can  deny 
that  the  development  of  life  has  been 
sure,  profound,  and  beneficent  ? — Man 
may  have  had  the  lowliest  possible 
origin,  yet  he  brings  with  him  a  seal 
higher  than  human  ;  the  very  token  of 
God  is  in  his  spirit ;  his  very  figure  is 
an  argument  and  a  suggestion. — The 
text  encourages  the  spirit  of  hope. — The 
Bible  does  not  incite  us  towards  mere 
review  ;  it  continually  calls  us  to  antici- 
pation :  **  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be." — We  might  look  back 
until  our  spirits  sickened  and  all  our 
hope  perished  in  coldness  and  dismay  ; 
but  we  are  to  look  forward  and  behold 
ourselves,  sanctified  and  glorified,  the 
purpose  of  our  manhood  in  full  fruition, 
and  the  service  of  God  becoming  the 
very  music  of  our  life. — There  is  a 
review  of  life  which  is  simply  unprofit- 
able ;  when  we  have  set  tied  that  our  origin 


'*HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE:* 


429 


was  as  low  as  possible,  we  have  done 
nothing  to  encourage  the  soul,  but 
rather  to  bring  it  into  self-contempt : 
but  when,  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  we 
forecast  the  future,  seeing  what  God 
meant  us  to  be  when  he  created  us,  then 
we  have  an  ideal  towards  which  we  can 
grow  ;  we  are  beckoned  by  a  celestial 
perfection,  and  assured  that  every  effort 
in  that  direction  will  be  crowned  with 
the  fullest  reward. — This  message  may 
be  delivered  to  those  who  have  just 
begun  to  believe  in  the  Son  of  God. — 
The  kingdom  of  God  itself  is  like  unto  a 
grain  of  mustard-seed. — At  first  our 
faith  may  be  small,  hardly  mdeed  dis- 
tinguishable from  unbelief;  our  prayer 
may  be  "  Lord,  I  believe ;  help  thou 
mine  unbelief"  :  but  the  very  fact  that 
we  have  begun  to  believe  should  cheer 
us,  and  bring  with  it  the  assurance 
that  this  faith  will  grow,  until  it 
dominates  the  whole  life  and  rules  the 
destiny,  beyond  the  reach  of  temptation 
or  overthrow  on  the  part  of  the  enemy. 
— What  man  ceases  to  nurture  his  body, 
because  his  beginning  as  an  infant  was 
small  ?  He  does  nofdwell  upon  the  days 
when  he  could  neither  speak,  nor  reason, 
nor  help  himself :  when  he  looks  back 
upon  those  days,  it  is  with  wonder  that 
his  advance  has  been  so  great  and  so 
sure ;  what  is  true  in  the  flesh  is  truer 
still  in  the  spirit ;  we  began  at  a  point 
almost  invisible,  but,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  we  have  been  tramed  to  some 
measure  of  manhood,  strength,  and 
dominance. — What  has  been  done  is 
but  a  hint  of  what  may  yet  be  done. — 
"My  soul,  hope  thou  n  God.*' 


**  If  I  justify  my  self ^  mine  own  mouth 
shall  condemn  me^ — Job  ix.  20. 

There  are  two  processes  often  going 
on  together  in  human  thought,— self- 
justification  and  self-condemnation. — 
The  justification  s  often  outward  ;  that 
is,  it  takes  a  social  range,  going  up  and 


down  amongst  men,  asking  for  charges, 
indictments,  proofs  of  blame  :  but  even 
whilst  the  soul  is  thus  revelling  in  social 
applause,  when  it  turns  in  upon  itself, 
it  is  with  bitterest  reproaches. — The 
hand  has  been  clean,  but  the  heart  has 
been  impure  ;  the  deed  has  had  all  the 
appearance  of  charming  beneficence, 
but  the  motive  out  of  which  it  came 
was  one  of  the  intensest  selfishness. — 
A  man  may  justify  himself  logically ; 
that  is  to  say,  he  may  prove  a  literal 
consistency  in  his  behaviour  ;  yet  when 
he  turns  to  spiritual  considerations,  he 
may  overwhelm  himself  with  proofs  that 
all  his  outward  life  has  been  but  a 
series  of  studied  attitudes,  a  marvel  in 
trickery,  invention,  and  cunning  arrange- 
ment.— "As  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart,  so  is  he  :  "  *'  The  Lord  looketh 
on  the  heart:"  "Judge  not  by  the 
appearance,  but  judge  righteous  judg- 
ment."— It  is  at  this  point  that  the 
spirituality  of  the  Christian  religion 
is  realised. — God  searches  the  heart, 
and  tries  the  reins  of  the  children  of 
men. — Innocence  can  be  simulated  ; 
respectability  can  be  put  on  like  a  cloak ; 
even  piety  itself  may  be  turned  into  a 
mere  colour  of  the  skin  :  but  all  these 
accessories  are  stripped  by  the  spirit  of 
divine  judgment,  and  the  eye  of  God 
looks  upon  the  heart,  its  motive,  its 
purpose,  its  supreme  desire. — This  is 
at  once  a  terror  and  a  blessing :  a  terror 
to  the  evil  man,  how  clever  soever  he 
may  have  been  in  his  e.xterior  arrange- 
ments ,  a  blessing  to  the  pure  and 
genuine  heart  that  has  had  to  struggle 
against  a  thousand  social  disadvantages 
and  oppositions. — The  great  condemna- 
tion is  self-condemnation. — In  vain  the 
world  applauds  us,  when  we  know  that 
the  applause  is  undeserved. — The  public 
assembly  may  welcome  us  wjth  over- 
whelming acclamation,  yet  the  soul 
within  may  say,  All  this  noise  is  a 
tribute  to  my  hypocrisy,  not  a  recogni- 
tion of  my  real  state;  could  these  people 


430 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


know  me  as  I  really  am,  these  welcoming 
cheers  would  be  turned  into  thundering 
denunciations  :  I  do  not  accept  the 
huzzas  of  the  ignorant  multitude,  I 
tremble  and  cower  under  my  own  judg- 
ment.— Self-justification  is  no  commen- 
dation :  he  who  justifies  himself  before 
men,  is  all  the  more  likely  to  be  guilty 
before  God  ;  for  he  tries  to  make  up  by 
boisterousness  and  declamation  what  is 
wanting  in  solidity  and  spiritual  piety. 
— "  Brethren,  if  our  heart  condemn  us, 
God  is  greater  than  our  heart,  and 
knoweth  all  things." — Blessed  is  the 
man  who  condemns  himself  justly  and 
thoroughly,  for  only  by  so  doing  does 
he  prepare  himself  for  the  true  revela- 
tion of  God  in  the  soul. — God  never 
sat  down  in  the  heart  of  self-conceit, 
but  evermore  hurled  against  that  heart 
his  judgments  and  retributions. — The 
Pharisee  justified  himself,  and  was  left 
unjustified  by  God  :  the  publican  con- 
demned himself,  and  went  down  to  his 
house  justified. 


**  Thine  hands  have  made  me  and 
fashioned  me  together  round  about ; 
yet  thou  dost  destroy  nie.^' — ^JOB 
X.  8. 

The  fact  is  correct,  but  the  reasoning 
is  false. — It  often  happens  so  in  reason- 
ing under  strong  feeling. — The  argu- 
ment ought  to  have  proceeded  in 
exactly  the  opposite  way ;  then  Job 
would  have  said  with  the  Psalmist, 
"Thou  wilt  not  forsake  the  work  of 
thine  own  hands." — There  is  a  strong 
temptation  to  recognise  Providence 
in  parts  and  sections,  but  not  to  con- 
tinue the  thought  throughout  the  whole 
line  of  human  life  and  experience. — 
Many  persons  will  acknowledge  a 
Creator,  who  do  not  acknowledge  the 
providential  government  which  touches 
every  detail  of  existence. — Others, 
again,  will  acknowledge  Providence, 
but  deny  the  reality  of  Redemption. — 


Others,  again,  are  devoted  to  the  col- 
lection of  facts,  and  yet,  when  they 
have  brought  all  their  facts  into  a 
focus,  they  seem  to  be  unable  to  draw 
the  right  inferences  from  them. — Man 
often  perishes  at  the  point  of  argument. 
— Man  ought  often  to  let  argument 
alone  and  simply  rest  upon  facts.— 
Where  argument  does  arise  in  a  case 
like  this,  it  should  take  some  such 
terms  as  the  following  : — Thine  hands 
have  made  me  and  fashioned  me  to- 
gether round  about ;  therefore  thou  hast 
a  living  and  loving  interest  in  me,  and 
although  I  cannot  understand  the  dis- 
cipline through  which  thou  art  now 
making  me  to  pass,  I  am  confident, 
from  the  excellence  and  minuteness  of 
thy  creation,  that  thy  providence  can- 
not fall  short  of  what  is  there  so  vividly 
and  graciously  displayed. — ^Jesus  Christ 
always  reasoned  from  the  lower  to  the 
higher : — If  God  takes  care  of  oxen, 
will  he  not  take  care  of  you ;  if  he 
clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  etc. ;  if  he 
care  for  the  fowls  of  the  air,  etc.  ;  if 
ye,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good 
gifts  unto  your  children,  etc. — This  is 
the  Saviour's  argument,  always  rising 
upwards  towards  the  unseen,  the 
eternal. — By  creating  man,  God  does 
not  set  up  any  right  to  destroy  him. — 
Creation  would  be  too  narrowly  viewed 
if  it  were  regarded  as  simply  an  arbi- 
trary act. — Even  in  the  region  of  manu- 
factures, who  is  there  that  makes  an 
article  for  the  sake  of  destroying  it, 
and,  even  though  there  may  be  the 
right  of  destroying  such  an  article,  yet 
who  is  not  restrained  by  reason  from 
perpetrating  its  destruction? — In  the 
case  of  man,  however,  the  circum- 
stances are  wholly  different :  man  is 
rational ;  man  is  responsible  ;  man  can 
hold  companionship  with  God  ;  man  is 
capable  of  enduring  the  most  excruciat- 
ing agonies  j  under  all  these  con- 
ditions of  life  the  very  act  of  creation 
implies  the  further  act  of  care,  patience, 


"HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


431 


training,  love,  and  redemption. — "We 
should  reason  that  if  God  has  given  us 
the  light  of  the  sun  he  will  not  with- 
hold needful  illumination  from  the 
mind  :  if  God  has  filled  the  earth  with 
bread  and  other  food  for  man,  he  has 
made  some  provision  for  the  nurture 
and  sustenance  of  the  soul :  if  he  has 
made  us,  he  means  to  keep  us, — yea, 
though  we  sin  against  him,  he  will 
come  out  after  us,  that  he  ho  has 
been  our  Creator  may  also  be  our 
Redeemer. 


**  I  am  full  of  confusion^ — ^JOB  x.  15. 

This  is  a  fact,  and  ought  to  be  re- 
garded seriously. — Providence  is  often 
such  as  to  bewilder  our  merely  intel- 
lectual faculties. — Things  do  not  happen 
in  the  sequence  which  we  have  deter- 
mined.— We  seem,  for  the  moment,  at 
least,  to  sow  one  thing  and  reap 
another. — All  our  calculations  are  up- 
set as  to  the  prosperity  of  virtue  and 
the  degradation  of  vice.— We  make 
bold  to  prophesy  what  will  happen 
to-morrow  in  the  order  of  God's  pro- 
vidence ;  we  say,  The  wicked  man 
will  return  from  his  attempts  worsted 
and  ashamed,  and  yet  he  comes  in 
successful  and  glorying  in  his  abundant 
prosperity. — Being  full  of  confusion,  we 
should  (a)  wait ;  {b)  take  an  appointed 
course  of  inquiry ;  (<:)  not  suppose  that 
it  lies  within  our  power  to  comprehend 
the  whole  counsel  of  God. — These 
broad  and  frank  confessions  of  con- 
fusion or  of  ignorance  are  not  at  all 
harmful  even  in  the  Christian  teacher  ; 
when  he  avows  his  inability  to  deal 
with  certain  questions  he  acquires  for 
himself  an  additional  measure  of  con- 
fidence in  regard  to  those  subjects 
which  he  does  undertake  to  elucidate. 
— The  Bible  itself  does  not  propose  to 
clear  up  every  mystery,  or  drive  away 
every  cloud. — There  is  a  sense  indeed 
in    which  the    Bible  is    the  greatest 


mystery  of  all. — Even  in  the  wildest 
mental  confusion,  there  are  often  some 
points  of  certainty,  some  solid  facts, 
histories,  or  experiences,  upon  which 
we  can  rest  the  mind. — We  should 
abide  there  until  the  storm  abates  a 
little,  or  the  light  so  increases  as  to 
create  a  larger  day. — No  man  need  be 
altogether  in  confusion  if  he  be  frank- 
minded,  really  earnest,  and  religious  in 
spirit. — Some  little  thing  at  least  will 
be  given  to  him,  which  he  can  seize 
and  hold  with  a  firm  hand. — Stand  by 
the  one  thing  which  is  clear  and  plain, 
and  from  that  work  onward  and  out- 
ward towards  those  truths  which  seem 
to  hang  on  the  distant  horizon. 


**//  is  as  high  as  heaven;  what  canst 
thou  do  ?  "—Job  xi.S. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  a  heaven 
which  our  poor  hands  cannot  touch. — 
Do  we  deny  the  existence  of  that  lofty 
space,  simply  because  we  cannot  touch 
it?  Do  we  say.  Our  eyes  may  be 
deceiving  us,  and  after  all  there  is  no 
such  loftiness  ?  It  is  all  optical  illusion 
or  delusion  ? — As  in  nature  so  it  ought 
to  be  in  higher  truth  and  graces  ;  there 
are  some  things  to  be  seen  from  afar, 
others  to  be  handled  and  directly 
enjoyed,  and  others  again  which  partake 
of  the  nature  of  dream  and  symbol  and 
apocalypse. — We  must  make  something 
like  a  reasonable  distribution  of  the 
circumstances  and  phenomena  which 
make  up  our  life. — There  are  some 
things  about  which  we  may  talk  almost 
exhaustively  ;  everything  about  them  is 
so  explicit  and  direct  :  but  when  we 
come  upon  those  higher  things  which 
can  only  be  seen  at  an  infinite  distance, 
we  must  make  allowance  for  our 
inability,  and  not  blame  God  or  cast 
discredit  upon  his  method  of  training 
the  world. — If  a  man  cannot  reach 
what  God  has  made,  s  it  likely  that  he 
can  comprehend  all  that  God  is?    Is 


43* 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


not  the  worker  always  greater  than  his 
work?  Whoever  made  the  stars  may 
be  rationally  supposed  to  be  greater  than 
the  stars  which  he  has  made,  and,  being 
greater,  is  by  so  much  more  difficult  of 
comprehension,  so  difficult,  indeed,  as 
to  rise  to  the  point  of  absolute  impossi- 
bility in  our  present  state. — We  do  not 
venture  to  attempt  an  interpretation  of 
everything  that  is  in  ourselves  ;  our  own 
souls  are  often  too  profound  for  our 
vision  ;  our  motives  are  so  complicated 
and  intermixed  that  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  separate  the  one  action  from  the 
other,  and  to  say,  This  is  good,  and, 
That  is  bad,  inexact  terms. — All  height 
should  teach  us  to  aspire;  all  width 
created  by  God,  such  as  the  great  sea  or 
the  greater  firmament,  should  lead  us 
out  in  the  direction  of  enlargement  and 
comprehensiveness  of  mind ;  all  the 
symbols  of  nature  should  have  a  corre- 
sponding effect  upon  our  spiritual 
capacity  and  training. — We  must  not 
be  afraid  to  look  nature  fully  and 
lovingly  in  the  face ;  she  is  a  great 
parable  which  the  heart  alone  can  often 
read  ;  she  does  not  set  little  and 
arbitrary  boundaries  to  our  position  and 
progress,  but  rather  is  full  of  encourage- 
ment to  us  to  advance  and  conquer. — 
Still,  as  in  nature  we  know  just  where 
to  stop,  so  it  should  be  in  spiritual 
nquest  and  study  :  we  come  to  brinks, 
and  must  take  care  not  to  fall  over  ;  we 
behold  lofty  eminences,  and  must  know 
that  they  were  meant  to  be  looked  at  and 
not  to  be  trodden  under  foot :  ^to  make 
a  wise  use  of  nature  in  this  way  is  to 
encourage  and  strengthen  all  that  is  best 
in  our  spiritual  being.  — Has  any  man 
seen  all  the  creation  of  God  ?  Has  any 
man  any  conscious  relation  to  any  other 
world  than  the  earth  in  which  he  was 
born }  Is  it  possible  for  any  man  to  see 
through  the  darkness  of  midnight,  when 
all  the  light  of  heaven  has  been  with- 
drawn ? — If,  then,  there  are  such  limits 
and  obstructions,  difficulties  and  im- 


possibilities, in  things  which  are  termed 
natural,  is  it  at  all  an  irrational  con- 
ception there  should  be  things  in  even 
greater  abundance  in  the  purely  spiritual 
realm,  which  mock  us  and  sometimes 
defy  us,  and  which  all  the  while  beckon 
and  lure  us  with  hopefulness  that  we 
may  yet  see  further  kingdoms  and  enjoy 
the  larger  liberties  of  life? — Blessed  is 
he  who  knows  where  to  stop. — Because 
there  is  a  stopping-place  in  all  thought, 
it  does  not  follow  that  there  is  no  line 
of  thought  to  be  entered  upon. — When 
we  know  where  to  stop,  we  may  also 
know  that  the  point  is  but  intermediate, 
not  final ;  that  we  rest  there  but  for  a 
moment,  and  that  by-and-by  we  shall 
take  up  the  series,  and  continue  it  into 
the  very  day  of  heaven  itself. 


"  lam  not  inferior  to  jfou."— Job  xii.  3. 

This  may  be  a  mere  boast,  or  it  may 
contain  truth  which  is  of  great  spiritual 
significance. — The  spirit  of  defiance 
ought  to  be  taken  out  of  it,  and  the 
substantial  suggestion  should  be  adopted 
by  every  man  who  wishes  to  make  real 
progress  in  Christian  instruction  and 
experience. — The  poorest  man  may  say 
to  the  greatest — I  am  not  inferior  to  you 
in  my  desire  to  appreciate  my  life  and 
make  the  most  of  it ;  therefore  I  cannot 
be  turned  aside  by  vain  quibbling  or 
frivolous  criticism,  but  I  must  go  to  the 
fountain  of  knowledge  itself,  and  there 
make  my  own  inquiries  and  decisions. 
— So  the  poor  man  may  say — I  am  not 
inferior  to  you  in  the  sight  of  God ; 
social  distinctions  there  are  in  abun- 
dance, often  invidious,  vexatious,  trouble- 
some, sometimes  rational,  useful  and 
beneficent ;  but  after  all,  the  true 
judgment  of  man  is  with  God,  and  God 
looks  upon  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike, 
with  an  eye  of  love  and  interest. — This 
being  the  case,  he  may  continue  the 
argument  and  say,  God  will  also  take 


**HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


433 


care  of  me  and  my  children ;  he  has 
spoken  kinder  words  to  the  poor  than 
he  ever  spoke  to  thei  rich ;  he  seems 
to  have  made  his  promises  on  purpose 
for  those  who  were  desolate,  and  help- 
less,   and    sad. — Then  he    may   cheer 
himself  with  the  thought  that  there  are 
inferiorities  which  are  only  for  the  time 
being,  — they  are  transient,  and  the  true 
standard  of  superiority  will  by-and-by 
be  worked  out,  and  God  will  put  every 
man  in  his  legitimate  place  ;  the  first 
shall  be  last,  and  the  last  shall  be  first ; 
it  is  not  for  us  to  say  who  shall  go 
forward,  and  who  shall  be  thrust  behind ; 
our  function  is  to  discover  our  duty,  to 
accept  it,   to  do  it  with  both  hands 
earnestly,  and  to  leave  the  whole  result 
of  classification  and  promotion  to  him 
who  ruleth  over  all. — In  speaking  of 
inferiority  and  superiority,  the  spirit  of 
vexatious  criticism  or  envious  defiance 
should  always  be  suppressed   and  de- 
stroyed, and  this  only  can  be  done  by  the 
reigning  and   superabundant  grace   of 
God. — He  who  boasts  himself  of  himself 
is  a  fool ;  he  who  appeals  to  the  divine 
standard  and  abides  by  the  divine  dis- 
crimination is  a  wise  man,  and  he  will 
accept  the  lowest  place,  not  with  humi- 
lity only,   but  with  thankfulness  and 
joy,  should  such  be  the  will   of  his 
Father  in  heaven. 


".    .    ,  the  soul  of  every  living  thing!* 
Job  xii.  lo. 

Observe,  not  only  "every  living 
thing,"  but  actually  the  soul  of  it.— 
There  is  great  meaning  in  this  expres- 
sion ;  it  shows  that  we  do  not  see  the 
life  in  its  innermost  recesses  and  springs, 
but  only  some  appearance  or  shape  of  it 
from  the  outside.— We  have  often  said 
that  no  man  has  seen  himself:  the  man 
is  within  the  man ;  the  life  is  within 
the  life.— This  rule  holds  good  with 
regard  to  everything  round  about  us; 

VOL,   il. 


notably,  it  holds  good  with  regard  to 
the  Church,  for  the  Church  is  within 
the  Church,  that  is  to  say  it  is  a  spiritual 
reality,  of  which  the  visible  Church  is 
but  the  outward  embodiment ;  and  if 
we  are  not  members  of  the  spiritual 
kingdom  it  is  of  no  importance  what 
eminence  we  have  attained  with  regard 
to  formal   position  or  membership. — 
The  rule  holds  good  also  in  regard  to 
the  Bible  :  in  an  emphatic  sense,  the 
Bible  is  within  the  Bible ;  a  man  may 
.  read  the  merely  literary  Bible  from  end 
to  end,  and  know  absolutely  nothing 
about  the  revelation  of  God  :  that  reve- 
lation is  only  granted  to  the  wise  and 
understanding  heart,  to  those  who  are 
simple  of  mind,  single  and  earnest  in 
purpose,  whose  one  desire  is  to  know 
what  God  has  said,  and  to  do  it :  hence 
criticism  can  never  get  out  of  the  Bible 
the  soul  of  its  living  things  :  only  sym- 
pathy with  God,  pureness  of  heart,  and 
all  the  quiet  graces  of  love,  meekness, 
and  docility,  can  reap  great  spoils  in 
the  harvest-field  of  the  Bible. — The  rule 
holds  good  also  with  regard  to  all  eccle- 
siastical sacraments  :  they  may  be  good 
or  bad,   useful  or  useless,  just  as  we 
approach  them  or  appropriate  them. — 
We  may  turn  them  into  mere  idols  and 
so   may  actually  sin   against  the  very 
purpose  of  their  constitution ;  or  we  may 
regard  them  as  instruments,  mediums, 
or    vehicles,    through    which    God    is 
pleased  in  some  way  to  show  himself  to 
the  waiting  and  expectant  heart ;  used 
in  this  latter  way,  they  become  in  very 
deed  means  of  grace,   valueless  when 
viewed  purely  and  absolutely  in  them- 
selves but  infinitely  precious  when  re- 
garded as  the  medium  through  which 
God  descends  upon  the  loving  heart. — 
The  same  rule  applies  to  the  right  in- 
terpretation of  what  is  called  material 
nature  :    who  can  tell  what  is  behind  it 
all  ?      Agnostics    themselves    acknow- 
ledge that  even  in  matter  there  is  some- 
thing which  they  cannot  comprehend. 
28 


434 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


Agnosticism,  or  know-notism,  is  not, 
therefore,  confined  to  what  are  usually 
known  as  spiritual  subjects,  but  has  a 
direct  bearing  upon  things  which  are 
substantial  and  visible. — All  these 
secrets  of  life  being  more  or  less  beyond 
us,  we  are  led  up  at  once  to  the  great 
principle  that  only  God  can  be  judge 
of  all. — We  know  nothing  as  it  really 
is. — He  alone  is  the  critic,  whose  pene- 
tration can  pierce  to  the  innermost 
thought,  motive,  and  purpose  of  the 
heart ;  with  him,  therefore,  must  be 
left  all  judgment  and  all  destiny. — It 
is  better  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  God 
than  into  the  hands  of  man. 


"  He  »  ,  ,  maketh  the  judges  fools!'— 
Job  xii.  17. 

This  is  for  their  good. — If  they  were 
not  rebuked,  they  would  go  on  from 
one  presumption  to  another,  until  they 
utterly  forgot  themselves  and  idolised 
their  own  ability.— It  is  good  for  the 
wise  man  to*  be  made  to  know  the 
measure  of  his  wisdom,  and  for  the 
judge  to  step  down  sometimes  amongst 
the  common  people,  and  to  own  that 
there  are  questions  too  high  for  him. — 
The  word  "judges"  should  not  be 
limited  to  the  merely  judicial  function, 
as  exercised  in  courts  of  law.  The 
principle  covers  a  large  area.  It  in- 
cludes, for  example,  all  theologians ; 
they  should  not  stand  up  as  men  who 
know  everythirg,  and  to  whom  is  given 
the  treasure  of  heavenly  mystery,  to  be 
expended  as  they  please :  they  are 
most  influential  when  they  are  least 
presumptuous :  they  should  claim  to 
be  fellow-readers,  and  fellow-students, 
and  fellow-worshippers ;  and  out  of 
this  sympathy  with  the  common  heart, 
they  will  acquire  all  true  spiritual 
influence. — We  are  taught,  by  this 
divine  visitation,  not  to  put  our  con- 
fidence   evea    in    men   who    occupy 


supreme  positions  :  we  may  have  come 
to  them  at  a  time,  when  their  wits 
were  bewildered,  and  their  judgment 
had  been  turned  upside  down. — God 
does  not  take  away  their  title,  but  he 
depletes  it  of  all  meaning  and  force, 
so  that  they  represent  the  most  seduc- 
tive and  disastrous  irony,  being  judges 
only  in  name,  and  not  in  faculty. — It 
is  clear  that  God  will  not  give  his 
glory  unto  another.  The  wise  man  is 
not  to  glory  in  his  wisdom,  nor  the 
mighty  man  in  his  power.  All  flesh 
is  to  glory  in  the  Lord. — God  recog- 
nises judges,  leaders,  princes,  captains, 
men  of  pre-eminent  power  and  in- 
fluence ;  and  he  has  never  withheld 
from  them  the  tribute  which  was  due 
to  all  their  greatness  and  utility  :  nay, 
he  himself  has  been  the  author  of 
that  greatness,  and  has  been  pleased 
to  confer  the  blessedness  of  utility  upon 
the  service  of  the  chief  in  his  house- 
hold ;  yet  he  has  never  given  his 
glory  to  another,  in  the  sense  of  being 
unable  to  withdraw  it ;  the  greatest 
servant  may  be  deposed  in  an  hour ; 
there  is  but  a  step  between  the  strongest 
man  and  death. — We  are  only  judges 
in  so  far  as  we  are  docile  students, 
reverential  worshippers,  patient  waiters 
upon  God. — In  all  matters  of  Biblical 
judgment,  the  spiritual  faculty  is  gene- 
rally with  those  who  are  least  in  their 
own  esteem  ;  who,  passing  by  all  that 
is  merely  initial  and  instrumental,  come 
at  once  upon  the  pith  and  reality  of 
things  :  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them  that  fear  him."  In  all  cases 
God  has  chosen  the  teachable  spirit 
as  his  peculiar  dwelling-place. — What 
a  lesson  this  is  to  all  men  in  high 
position,  in  authority,  children  of  fame, 
persons  who  suppose  their  castle  to 
be  founded  upon  rocks,  and  mighty 
men  who  scorn  the  idea  of  being 
brought  down  from  their  loftiness : 
*'Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth, 
take  heed  lest  he  fall." 


or  THS 


-«< 


U2ri7BE2IT' 


*'HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


**  He  tnaketh  them    to   stagger  like  a 
drunken  man.** — Job  xii.  25. 

Here  are  men  who  are  drunk,  but 
not  with  wine ;  men  who  suppose 
themselves  to  be  highly  gifted,  and 
yet  who  do  not  know  their  way  home 
again  when  they  have  once  gone  astray. 
— God  controls  all  physical  substance 
and  faculty  :  he  toucheth  the  strength 
of  a  man,  and  it  fades  away  ;  he 
waves  his  hand,  so  to  say,  across  his 
brain,  and  all  power  of  thinking  is 
for  ever  suspended  :  he  turneth  a  man's 
purposes  upside  down. — The  deplorable 
and  lamentable  thing,  viewed  from 
a  human  standing-point,  is  that  the 
men  appear  to  be  as  strong  and  pros- 
perous as  ever,  when  their  right  hand 
has  forgotten  its  cunning  and  their 
tongue  can  no  longer  speak  familiar 
words  :  they  represent  death  in  life ; 
they  are  as  walking  sepulchres  :  all  the 
framework  is  there  in  its  entirety,  but 
the  spirit  within  is  humiliated,  dis- 
possessed, or  quenched. — What,  then, 
is  our  security  ?  What  is  the  guarantee 
that  to  the  end  we  may  possess  sanity 
of  mind,  strength  and  dignity  of 
judgment? — We  are  only  safe  in  pro- 
portion as  we  keep  company  with 
God  ;  as  we  invoke  the  abiding  presence 
and  ministry  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  as 
we  remember  that  we  are  nothing  and 
have  nothing,  and  that  every  good 
gift  and  every  perfect  gift  cometh  down 
from  the  Father  of  lights. — We  some- 
times ascribe  great  failures  of  mind 
and  body  to  small  causes.  — We  should 
remember  that  there  is  a  great  Sovereign 
above  all,  who  appoints  and  disap- 
points, who  leads  forward  and  smites 
backward,  who  makes  the  first  last, 
and  the  last  first,  not  according  to 
some  arbitrary  will,  but  according  to 
a  law  of  grace  and  love,  the  full  scope 
of  which  we  have  not  yet  compre- 
hended.— Better  to  be  abased  in  this 
world,  than    to    be    destroyed    in  th 


next. — Better  to  understand  here  and 
now  that  we  are  only  servants  than 
to  be  taught  hereafter  that  there  is  no 
hope  for  us. — This  is  the  time  of  school, 
of  drill,  of  discipline,  of  all  the  educa- 
tional processes  which  may  end  in 
mature  wisdom  and  strength. — Here, 
again,  we  come  upon  the  salutary 
exhortation,  **Let  not  the  wise  man 
glory  in  his  wisdom." — We  are  limited 
on  every  side. —Our  wisdom  is  but 
partial. — Our  greatest  intellectual  suc- 
cesses are  but  beginnings. — We  shall 
begin  to  go  down  in  all  the  best 
qualities  of  our  soul,  when  we  suppose 
we  have  approached  the  point  of  finality, 
because  then  we  may  turn  round  and 
make  demands  upon  society,  which  are 
unsupported  by  reason  and  justice. — 
Hold  thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be 
safe :  put  thine  hand  round  about  me, 
then  I  shall  no  longer  stagger  like  a 
drunken  man.  What  is  my  hope? 
What  is  my  confidence?  Yea,  what 
is  my  expectation  ?  Truly  I  will  think 
nothing  of  myself,  and  attempt  to  be 
nothing  in  my  own  power  and  right : 
I  will  live  as  God's  servant,  I  will 
pray  as  God's  little  child,  I  will  have 
no  way  of  my  own  from  morning  to 
night ;  in  life,  in  death,  my  cry  shall 
be  : — Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done. 


"  Thou  .  .  makest  me  to  possess  the  ini- 
quities of  my  youth." — ^JOB  xiii.  26. 

Note  the  unity  and  continuity  of  life. 
— There  is  a  philosophy  which  asserts 
that  the  human  body  changes  its  atoms 
or  particles,  say,  every  seven  years, 
and  in  view  of  that  philosophy  it  has 
been  attempted  to  show  that  human 
identity  practically  changes. — The  sug- 
gestion is  not  without  fancy  and 
beauty  ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  simply 
driven  out  of  court  by  certain  moral 
instincts  which  insist  that  time  has 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  miti- 
gation of  deep  moral  offences. — Who^ 


436 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


for  example,  would  say  that  a  man  is 
no  longer  to  be  charged  with  murder 
after  seven  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
perpetration  of  the  crime?  Who 
would  admit  a  loiger  to  his  counting- 
house  on  the  plea  that  more  than  seven 
years  have  passed  by  since  the  forgery 
was  committed,  and  therefore  the 
identity  of  the  man  had  changed  ? — We 
have  to  elect  between  theories  which 
are  fanciful,  and  practices  which  are 
well- proved  and  established :  as  a 
mere  matter  of  fact,  it  would  be  uni- 
versally acknowledged  that  no  man 
would  be  admitted  to  trust  and  fellow- 
ship who  had  committed  murder  or 
forgery  even  thirty  years  ago ;  he 
would  be  still  held  to  be  the  same 
man,  and  his  offence  would  be  resented 
with  undiminished  indignation. — Here, 
then,  is  a  law,  the  action  of  which  we 
must  faithfully  recognise  :  Whatsoever  a 
man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap; 
this  plain  word  stands  for  ever,  and 
nothing  can  change  its  application. — 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  know  that 
after  long  years  the  trangressions 
against  health  which  we  have  com- 
mitted remind  us  by  practical  conse- 
quences of  their  reality. — We  are  con- 
stantly telling  men  that  they  treated 
themselves  hardly  in  their  youth,  that  in 
their  youth  they  ruined  their  constitu- 
tion, that  in  their  youth  they  laid  founda- 
tions for  this  or  that  disease. — This 
being  the  case  bodily,  it  is  also  the 
case  spiritually. — So  mysterious  is  the 
connection  between  the  body  and  the 
mind  that  what  is  done  in  the  one 
affects  the  other  for  good  or  for  evil. — 
A  man  cannot  think  a  bad  thought 
without  taking  so  much  quality  out  of 
his  brain. — A  man  cannot  even  silently 
muse  upon  the  possibility  of  doing  for- 
bidden things  without  returning  from 
his  contemplation  shorn  and  weakened 
and  dishonoured. — The  brain  gives  off 
its  quality  very  subtly,  but  most  surely ; 
so  much  so,   that  he  who   has  been 


indulging  evil  thoughts  finds  himself 
unprepared  to  discuss  great  questions 
or  undertake  perilous  adventures. — 
Another  law  that  is  recognised  in  this 
text  in  the  law  of  delay  in  the  infliction 
of  punishment  or  in  the  realisation  of 
facts. — The  penalty  does  not  immedi- 
ately succeed  the  transgression. — Here- 
in men  have  hardened  themselves  to  a 
high  degree  of  impenitence  against  God. 
— "  Because  sentence  against  an  evil 
work  is  not  executed  speedily,  there- 
fore the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is 
fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil." — We 
have  illustrations  of  this  even  in  physi- 
cal life. — Men  notice  with  wonder  that 
people  who  have  been  infected  with 
rabies  do  not  instantly  fall  down  dead  : 
the  poison  mingles  with  the  blood 
slowly,  and  probably  months,  in  some 
cases  even  years  will  elapse,  before 
the  fatal  result  is  developed. — This 
is  looked  upon  as  a  scientific  fact  ; 
it  occasions  no  moral  disturbance  in 
the  men  who  regard  it  as  such :  why. 
then,  should  it  be  thought  a  thing 
incredible  that  a  man  of  fifty  should 
have  to  suffer  for  wrongs  which  he  did 
at  twenty  ? — Is  it  not  matter  rather  foi 
religious  wonder  and  thankfulness  that 
the  law  should  be  so  continuous  and 
inevitable  in  its  operations  and  execu- 
tions?— In  science  this  would  be 
thought  admirable,  and  would  be  held 
up  as  an  instance  of  the  solidarity  and 
majesty  of  nature  ;  the  moral  teacher 
must  be  none  the  less  ready  to  avail 
himself  of  it  for  his  superior  purposes. 
— A  text  of  this  kind  justifies  the 
preacher  in  exhorting  his  hearers  to 
beware  what  they  sow.,  to  take  care 
of  themselves  in  their  youth,  and  to 
proceed  along  the  line  of  life  with  the 
caution  of  men  who  know  that  every 
word  will  be  heard  again,  that  every  deed 
will  repeat  itself  in  some  consequence, 
and  that  character  is  but  the  summing-up 
and  consummation  of  works  done  day 
by  day  from  the  very  beginning  of  life. 


**HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


437 


**.     •     .  full  of  trouble:'— 1o^  xiv.  I. 

This  is  one  of  the  exaggerations 
quite  pardonable  to  men  in  hours  of 
agony. — There  have  been  bright  minds 
that  have  found  more  joy  than  sorrow 
in  the  world. — Unquestionably  there  is 
a  diversity  of  temperament,  and  that 
ought  to  be  taken  into  account  in  every 
consideration  of  the  whole  subject  of 
human  discipline. — It  certainly  seems 
as  if  some  lives  were  left  without  the 
brightness  of  a  single  gleam  of  hope  ; 
one  trouble  succeeds  another  like  cloud 
coming  after  cloud,  until  the  whole 
horizon  is  draped  in  blackness.— Con- 
sider the  many  sources  and  springs  and 
occasions  of  trouble  in  human  life. — 
Take  the  individual  constitution  :  some 
men  seem  to  be  bom  utterly  wanting 
in  all  the  conditions  of  health  ;  from 
infancy  upward  they  are  doomed  to 
depression,  weakness,  pain,  and  all  the 
influences  which  contribute  towards 
settled  melancholy ;  others,  again,  seem 
to  be  wounded  every  day  through  their 
children;  the  hard-hearted,  the  un- 
grateful, the  impenitent,  the  selfish,  the 
thoughtless ;  others  again  have  no  suc- 
cess in  business ;  whatever  they  do 
perishes  in  their  hands  ;  they  are  always 
too  late  in  the  morning ;  they  always 
feel  that  some  other  man  has  passed  by 
them  in  the  race  of  life,  and  plucked 
the  fruit  which  they  intended  to  enjoy  ; 
others,  again,  are  beaten  down  in  the 
conflict  for  the  want  of  physical  strength, 
or  mental  energy,  or  rational  hopeful- 
ness :  they  think  it  is  no  use  proceeding 
further ;  they  say  the  fates  are  against 
them,  and  so  they  sink  into  neglect, 
and  pass  away  without  leaving  any 
traces  of  successful  work  in  life. — We 
must  distingu  sh  between  the  trouble 
which  is  external,  physical,  and  trace- 
able more  or  less  to  our  own  action, 
and  that  mysterious  heart-trouble  which 
comes  from  solemn  moral  reflection, 
from  the  reckoning  up  of  sins,  and  from 


a  thoughtful  calculation  of  all  the 
actions,  thoughts,  and  purposes  which 
have  deserved  divine  condemnation. — 
There  is  no  trouble  to  be  compared 
with  the  trouble  of  the  mind. — He  is 
not  poor  who  has  left  to  him  an  estate 
of  thought,  reflection,  contemplation, 
and  the  power  of  prayer. — In  talking 
of  trouble  we  should  also  talk  about 
its  mitigations.  Is  it  possible  that  there 
can  be  a  life  anywhere  on  which  some 
beam  of  sunshine  does  not  alight  ?  We 
are  not  now  talking  about  the  insane, 
or  those  who  suffer  from  increasing  and 
continued  melancholy,  but  about  the 
general  average  of  human  life  ;  and,  so 
speaking,  surely  we  can  always  find 
in  the  hardest  lot  some  mitigation  of 
the  burden,  some  compensation  for 
extra  darkness  and  difficulty. — We 
should  look  out  for  the  mtigations. — 
Instead  of  arguing  from  the  difficulty 
we  should  argue  from  the  strength 
which  is  able  to  bear  it  in  some  degree. 
All  this  is  never  easy  to  do,  and  he 
would  acquire  no  influence  over  men 
who  sought  to  drive  away  their  burdens, 
their  difficulties,  and  their  fears. — 
Better  look  at  them  seriously,  add  them 
up  as  to  their  real  value,  and  so  acquire 
standing-ground  in  the  estimation  of 
the  hearer  as  to  be  enabled  to  proceed 
to  enumerate  mercies,  blessings,  allevia- 
tions, and  the  like,  so  as  to  mitigate  the 
horrors  of  the  actual  situation.— Then, 
whatever  trouble  we  may  have,  we 
must  remember  that  it  is  not  to  be 
compared  with  the  distress  of  him  who 
said,  *' My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful, 
even  unto  death." — We  think  of  him, 
and  justly  so,  at  all  times  as  a  Man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. — 
No  man  had  sorrow  like  Christ's. — He 
is  therefore  not  an  high  priest  which 
cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities,  but  from  his  own  ex- 
perience he  is  sensitive  to  all  our 
sufi"erings,  and  responsive  to  all  our 
appeals. — Then  we  should  look  at  the 


438 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


"afterwards"  promised  to  those  who 
bear  discipline  well  and  pass  through 
chastisement  patiently  and  unmurmur- 
ingly  :  "  No  chastening  for  the  present 
seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous  : 
nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto 
them  which  are  exercised  thereby.'* 


"  Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of 
an  unclean  ?  not  one^ — ^JOB  xiv.  4. 

The  answer  is  correct,  and  incorrect. 
— Everything  depends  upon  the  limits 
within  which  it  is  treated. — As  regards 
man,  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  change 
causes  or  to  upset  the  laws  of  the  uni- 
verse.— With  men  this  is  impossible, 
but  with  God  all  things  are  possible. — 
This  is  the  very  thing  that  God  is  con- 
stantly doing  :  he  is  bringing  strength 
out  of  weakness,  purity  out  of  impurity, 
life  out  of  death  ;  this  is  the  eternal 
miracle  of  the  divine  administration. — ' 
It  is  of  infinite  importance,  however, 
that  man  should  realise  his  own  help- 
lessness in  this  matter,  otherwise  he 
will  never  look  in  the  right  direction 
for  guidance  and  succour. — It  is  some- 
thing to  know  that  men  have  discovered 
beyond  all  question  that  to  bring  a 
clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  is  impos- 
sible.— The  text  is  more  than  an  inquiry ; 
it  is  also  a  verdict. — Great  importance 
attaches  to  these  incidental  intimations 
of  the  results  of  human  inquiry  and 
experience. — If  any  man  had  brought 
a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  it  would 
be  known,  and  the  example  would  have 
been  held  up  as  pointing  to  a  law,  at 
least  to  an  occasional  possibility,  and 
therefore  perhaps  to  a  reality  which 
could  be  established  upon  the  broadest 
bases. — But  the  very  inquiry  has  in  it 
a  tone  of  helplessness. — When,  there- 
fore, man  is  done,  God  must  take  up 
the  case,  and,  let  us  repeat  again  and 
again,  it  is  his  glory  to  do  what  man 
cannot  do,  and  to  show  us  that  that 


which  is  sown  in  corruption  is  raised 
in  incorruption,  and  that  which  we  sow 
cannot  live  until  it  has  died. — The  Bible 
is  continually  upsetting  the  so-called 
laws  of  nature  and  laws  of  sequence. — 
It  would  seem  to  be  the  delight  of  the 
spirit  of  the  Bible  to  make  the  last  first, 
and  the  first  last,  and  to  confuse  all  the 
thinking  of  the  craftiest  minds.— The 
Church  of  Christ  is  a  clean  thing  brought 
out  of  an  unclean. — Every  renewed 
heart  is  a  clean  thing  brought  out  of 
an  unclean. — Every  generous  and  noble 
deed  is  likewise  a  clean  thing  brought 
out  of  an  unclean. — But  the  first  motive 
was  never  in  the  unclean  :  as  water 
cannot  rise  above  its  own  level,  neither 
can  depravity  :  anything,  therefore,  that 
is  now  pure,  wise,  noble,  true,  and 
useful  must  be  credited  to  the  almighty 
grace  of  God. — That  innumerable  hard 
questions  gather  around  this  view  of 
life  is  evident  enough  ;  still  we  have  to 
deal  with  the  practical  end  and  issue  of 
things,  and  there  we  find  that  even  the 
man  himself  who  does  the  good  deeds 
is  unwilling  to  ascribe  them  to  the 
action  of  his  own  depraved  motive  and 
thought,  but  willingly  accepts  the  solu- 
tion that  this  is  the  Lord's  doing  and 
marvellous  in  his  eyes. — Here  the  great 
gospel  of  salvation  may  be  preached  in 
all  its  unction  and  fulness  and  power. — 
God  makes  the  tree  good,  and  thus 
makes  the  fruit  good. — He  purifies  the 
fountain,  and  thus  he  cleanses  the 
stream.— God  does  not  begin  to  work 
from  the  outside,  cleansing  the  hands  ; 
but  from  the  internal  life,  purifying  the 
heart ;  then  all  the  rest  becomes  morally 
sequential,  and  illustrative  of  the 
miracle  that  has  been  wrought  within. 


*^  Art   thou   the  first   man  that  was 
born  ?  "—Job  xv.  7. 

The  humbling  questions  which  may 
be  put  to  men  I— The  very  strongest 


''HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE:' 


439 


man  is  thrown  down  from  his  high 
position  by  the  force  of  a  blow  like 
this.— How  difficult  it  is  to  be  an 
originator,  the  very  first  in  the  field, 
the  man  who  had  the  earliest  revelation 
and  the  first  message  to  bring  from 
heaven  !  We  cannot  get  at  that  man  ; 
he  is  removed  from  us  by  a  distance 
we  cannot  measure. — So  when  the  poet 
sings  he  accompanies  himself  upon  a 
harp  which  other  men  made ;  when  a 
book  is  published  it  is  only  an  advance 
upon  a  book  published  long  before  : 
when  a  man  puts  down  upon  paper  all 
the  knowledge  he  has  acquired,  he  is 
bound  to  say  that  it  was  an  acquisition 
and  not  an  origination  on  his  part ; 
he  says,  in  effect,  Other  men  have  told 
me  this ;  whether  they  are  right  or 
wrong,  I  cannot  tell ;  I  merely  repeat 
what  I  have  been  told. — We  must  dis- 
tinguish between  a  voice  and  an  echo. 
— The  application  of  an  inquiry  of  this 
kind  lies  in  the  direction  of  modifying 
our  infallibility.-^As  I  am  not  the  first 
man  that  was  born,  I  am  obliged  to 
consult  some  other  man,  so  that  we 
may  come  to  a  common  opinion  about 
beginnings,  and  operations,  and  issues  : 
he  may  have  seen  more  than  I  have 
seen  :  he  may  be  better  able  to  express 
himself  than  I  am  :  he  riiay  have  the 
very  thing  which  I  want. — Here  is  the 
great  principle  of  traditional  knowledge 
and  relative  knowledge  ;  and  this  prin- 
ciple must  be  recognised  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  universe,  and  even  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  Bible. — God 
takes  away  from  us  all  privileges  which 
could  be  turned  into  boasting,  or  he 
limits  those  privileges  by  showing  how 
many  other  people  have  shared  them, 
and  have  borne  their  elevation  in  a 
modest  spirit  and  with  a  thankful  heart. 
— The  question  would  admit  of  appli- 
cation in  regard  to  all  the  worlds 
into  which  men  are  bom  :  for  example, 
a  man  is  bom  into  the  world  of 
literature,  and    there    he    finds    him- 


self crowded  by  ancestors; — a  man 
is  born  into  the  spiritual  world,  in 
which  he  sings  and  prays,  and  holds 
communion  with  God,  and  suddenly  he 
feels  himself  surrounded  by  an  infinite 
host  of  fellow-worshippers  ; — he  is  born 
into  a  world  of  intellectual  activity,  and 
he  is  surprised  at  his  own  mental 
miracles,  and  scarcely  has  he  plumed - 
himself  upon  their  originality  or  novelty 
when  he  finds  that  all  he  has  looked 
upon  as  new  are  the  commonplaces  of 
ages  forgotten. — Thus  there  is  a  subtle 
action  of  encouragement,  and  a  con- 
current action  of  humiliation,  so  that 
between  the  two  the  man's  mind  may 
be  established  in  modesty  and  reason. 
— We  should  beware  how  we  go  about 
boasting  of  our  originality,  lest  the  man 
to  whom  we  speak  has  given  up  our 
novelties  as  commonplaces  he  could  no 
longer  tolerate. — Thus  infallibility  goes 
down  ;  thus  all  papacy  is  overthrown  ; 
thus  all  priesthood  is  dispossessed  of 
authority  :  we  can  only  live  healthfully 
by  mental  concession,  by  discussion,  by 
acknowledgment  of  indebtedness  one  to 
another,  and  by  preserving  the  fellow- 
ship which  eventuates  in  common  truths, 
and  sentiments  which  are  sustained  by 
a  large  common  practice. — Never  listen 
to  any  teacher  who  claims  to  be  the 
first  man  that  was  born  ;  be  thankful 
for  any  wise  man's  word  who  is  willing 
to  regard  it  as  but  a  contribution  to 
the  sum-total ;  and  in  proportion  as  the 
man  refers  to  his  authorities,  and  en- 
deavours to  found  his  claim  upon  his 
own  gratitude,  rather  than  upon  his 
own  inspiration,  have  confidence  in  the 
elevation  of  his  intention. 


•*/  have  heard  many  such  things.^ — 
Job  .\vi.  2. 

Many  unreflecting  speeches  are  made 
respecting  the  religious  life ;  also  many 
superficial    speeches;    especially    arc 


440 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


many  conjectural  words  uttered  regard- 
ing   human     experience. — There    has 
been  no  lack  of  answers  to  the  religious 
need  of  man. — Christianity  takes    its 
place  amongst  those  answers,  and  must 
vindicate  itself  by  the  fulness  and  ade- 
quacy   of    its    doctrines. — The    heart 
knows  the  right  speech  when  it  hears 
it. — The    heart  is    sated   with  foolish 
appeals. — Take  care  of  the  answering 
voice  which  God  has  put  within,  and 
let  its  tones  be  well  heard  when  ap- 
peals are  made  for    the  heart's  con- 
fidence.— The  answer  of  Christianity  to 
the  sorrow  of  the  world  is  unique  ;  it 
never  can  be  classed  amongst  '*  many 
such  things,"    for  it    stands  alone  in 
boldness,     compass,     tenderness. — All 
other    religions    have    outworn  them- 
selves, in  fruitless  endeavours  to  give 
intelligent  peace  to  the  human  mind  j 
they  have  wrought  apathy  or  stoicism, 
indifference,    neglect,   and    even    con- 
tempt, but  profound  and  enlightened 
serenity  is  a  miracle  which  they  have 
never  accomplished. — The    sorrow    of 
the  world  is  not  a  commonplace,  and 
therefore  it  is  not  to  be  subdued  or  miti- 
gated   by    commonplaces. — When    we 
speak  of  the  sorrow  of  the  world  as  a 
whole,  we  must  remember  that  it  is 
made  up  of  individual  distresses  and 
agonies,  and  only  that  which  applies  to 
the  individual  can  be    applied   effec- 
tually and  happily  to  the  whole  world. 
— Who    has    not    heard    of   fate,    or 
chance,  or  misfortune,  or  the  necessity 
of  things?    Who  has  not  been  told, 
more  or  less  carelessly,  to  be  quiet, 
patient  and   hopeful?    Who    has  not 
been  reminded  that  others  are  suffering 
more   than    themselves?    The  sufferer 
may  well  reply  :  I  have  heard  many 
such  things,  but  they  have  no  applica- 
tion   to  my    particular    need. — When 
Jesus  Christ  comes  to  the  heart  it  is 
impossible   for   the   heart   to   say   that 
many  other    speakers    have    said   the 
same  things  in  the  same  tone.     Herein 


it  is  true,  as  everywhere  else,  *'  Never 
man  spake  like  this  Man."  We 
wonder  at  the  gracious  words  which 
proceed  out  of  his  mouth  :  he  needeth 
not  that  any  should  testify  of  man,  for 
he  knows  what  is  in  man. — The  dis- 
tinctiveness of  Christ's  appeals  consti- 
tutes a  strong  claim  for  their  divinity. 
— David  said  of  the  sword  of  Goliath, 
**  there  is  none  like  it "  :  so  we  say  of 
the  words  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  they  are  un- 
rivalled in  sublimity,  pathos,  and  sim- 
plicity.— He  who  has  heard  Christ  with 
the  attention  of  his  heart  can  never 
forget  the  gracious  eloquence  and  the 
infinite  wisdom  of  the  divine  speaker. 
— Go  to  Christ  for  yourselves :  this 
Man  still  receiveth  sinners. — We  read 
that  the  disciples  went  and  told  Jesus 
what  had  happened  in  an  hour  of 
calamity;  we  must  go  on  the  same 
errand,  tell  him  everything,  speak  to 
him  every  day,  and  take  no  step 
which  he  does  not  sanction  or  accom- 
pany. 


"  God  hath  delivered  me  to  the  ungodly, 
and  turned  me  over  into  the  hands 
of  the  wicked^ — ^JOB  xvi.  ii. 

This  is  not  the  speech  of  ignorance  ; 
nor  is  this  a  mere  ebullition  of  fretful- 
ness  or  peevishness :  the  man  who 
speaks  is  a  wise  man,  whose  character 
God  himself  has  recognised  and  com- 
mended as  good,  even  supremely  good. 
— Nor  is  this  speech  an  exaggeration. 
This  is  precisely  what  God  has  done. — 
The  patriarch  now  seems  to  realise  the 
simple  truth  of  the  situation.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  God  had  delivered  Job  to 
the  ungodly,  and  turned  him  over  into 
the  hands  of  the  wicked. — But  God 
had  done  more,  and  it  is  that  additional 
something  which  is  so  often  forgotten 
in  our  surveys  and  estimates  of  Divine 
Providence. — God  had  pledged  his 
word  that  Job  would  be  constant  in  the 


*'BANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


44X 


hour  of  trial,  and  that  all  the  fire  of  hell 
would  'not  bum  him  when  he  passed 
through  the  furnace. — ^Where  God  has 
made  such  a  pledge  he  will  supply  the 
needful  grace. — The  battle  was  really 
not  between  Job  and  the  devil,  but 
between  God  himself  and  Satan  :  Job 
was,  so  to  say,  but  the  battle-field,  on 
which  the  great  combatants  stood  face 
to  face.  —If  Job  failed,  God  failed.— It 
is  so  now,  that  good  men  are  handed 
over  to  be  tried,  tempted,  and  put  to 
every  test  to  which  virtue  can  be  sub- 
jected.— Godly  men  are  not  taken  out 
of  the  world ;  they  are  still  left  in  its 
atmosphere,  and  in  immediate  touch 
with  all  its  customs  and  principles. — 
To  be  in  the  world  is  to  be  in  temp- 
tation ;  to  live  is  to  do  battle  with  evil. 
— It  is  unprofitable  to  disguise  from 
ourselves  the  reality  of  our  spiritual 
position. — It  is  foolish  to  appear  to  be 
in  the  world,  and  yet  to  be  independent 
of  it ;  we  are  not  to  hide  ourselves  from 
its  appeals  or  temptations,  or  from  any 
part  of  its  manifold  discipline  :  we  are 
called  upon  to  show  that  how  severe 
soever  may  be  our  trial,  he  who  is 
with  us  is  more  than  all  that  can  be 
against  us. — The  consolatory  thought 
which  every  Christian  should  apply  to 
himself  is,  that  temptation  is  but  for  a 
moment ;  it  is  not  the  evil  that  can 
endure  for  ever. — The  Son  of  man  had 
to  work  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  on 
the  third  day  he  was  perfected.  We 
have  to  follow  his  example. — We  are 
trained  to  strength  by  daily  conflicts. — 
The  spirit  of  wisdom  is  wrought  in  us 
by  being  exercised  in  discerning  good 
and  evil,  and  determining  to  follow  that 
which  is  right,  not  only  in  preference 
to  that  which  is  wrong,  but  in  absolute 
abhorrence  of  everything  that  is  unlike 
the  holiness  of  God. — Let  the  suffering 
Christian  be  cheered  and  animated  by 
the  reflection,  that  no  temptation  hath 
happened  unto  him  but  such  as  is  com- 
mon to  man. 


**  When    a  few  years  are  come.**'^ 
Job  xvi.  2Z 

Here  is  the  idea  of  measured  sorrow. 
A  man  complains  of  the  road,  but  he  is 
cheered  by  the  fact  that  the  end  is  not 
far  away. — The  Christian  has  not  bnly 
to  think  of  years,  but  "  a  few  years  " — 
quite  a  handful  of  days,  a  breath  or 
two,  a  struggle  or  two,  a  disappoint- 
ment or  two,  and  then  the  end  of  all  is 
reached. — We  should  always  look  out 
for  the  mitigations  of  our  condition. — 
The  sufferer  here  finds  it  in  the  brevity 
of  the  time  which  he  has  to  endure; 
we  may  alwa3rs  find  it  in  the  same 
direction.  Others  can  find  mitigations 
in  different  ways,  as  in  the  kindness  of 
friends,  the  brightness  of  mind  under 
bodily  affliction,  domestic  comfort,  and 
the  evident  accomplishment  of  divine 
purposes  in  the  purification  of  the 
character. — We  are  not  called  upon  in 
all  cases  to  find  consolation  at  the  same 
point,  but  every  man  is  called  upon  as 
a  child  of  God  to  find  consolation  some- 
where.— Let  him  say,  "This  is  my 
Father's  hand  :  not  my  will,  but  thine, 
be  done,"  and  all  his  aflBictions  will  be 
turned  into  sources  of  joy.— We  are  to 
kiss  the  rod  and  him  who  hath 
appointed  it ;  we  are  to  look  upon 
chastening  not  as  pleasant  but  as  griev- 
ous, yet  afterwards  working  the  peace- 
able fruit  of  righteousness. — The  text 
may  be  regarded  as  a  refrain  to  a  life- 
song.  However  the  music  may  run — 
now  smoothly,  now  roughly;  now 
harshly,  like  a  strong  wind,  now  softly, 
like  a  breeze  among  the  flowers — ^yet 
the  refrain  is,  "  When  a  few  years  are 
come."  "Brief  life  is  here  our  por- 
tion."— The  brevity  of  life  which  has 
its  mournful  aspects  has  also  its  aspects 
of  comfort  and  encouragement. — The 
misanthropist  would  say,  Life  is  so 
short,  it  is  not  worth  while  attempting 
to  do  anything  great :  the  tower  will 
not  be  half-finished,  the  work  will  but 


442 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


mock  me  by  an  abrupt  termination  ;  I 
will  turn  away  from  all  activity,  and 
wait  for  the  end  :  the  philanthropist 
would  say,  Life  is  brief,  therefore  I 
must  be  up  and  doing  ;  I  must  redeem 
the  time  or  buy  up  the  opportunity ; 
not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost ;  I  must 
hoard  the  hours  as  a  miser  hoards  gold  : 
the  sufferer  may  say,  Presently  all  will 
be  over ;  in  a  day  or  two  I  shall  see 
heaven's  (gate  opened,  and  join  the 
happy  throng  on  high, — at  the  best, 
**when  a  few  years  are  come,"  this 
night  of  time  vdll  be  forgotten  in  the 
brightness  of  heaven's  eternal  day  ;  I 
will  encourage  myself  by  this  reflection  : 
I  will  pray  that  I  may  be  man  enough 
to  stand  out  the  whole  trial  for  the 
little  time  that  yet  remains:  **he  that 
endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved :  " 
may  God  help  me  to  be  faithful  unto 
death  ;  then  he  will  not  withhold  from 
me  the  crown  of  life. — "  Until  death," 
and  that  is  just  within  sight ;  the  dark 
shadow  is  already  upon  me  ;  the  grave 
is  already  opening  at  my  feet.  Oh, 
poor,  throbbing,  suffering  heart,  hope 
on  :  even  to-morrow  may  see  thee  bear- 
ing the  banner  of  victory,  and  hear  thee 
singing  the  song  of  the  free. 


"Mine  eye  also  is  dim  by  reason  of 
sorrow,  and  all  my  members  are  as 
a  shadow. " — ^JOB  xvii.  7. 

The  children  of  God  need  not  hide 
the  extremities  to  which  they  are  put. — 
Whilst  in  one  sense  they  are  called 
upon  to  make  the  best  of  their  circum- 
stances, in  another  they  are  expected 
to  realise  all  the  discipline  through 
which  God  is  causing  them  to  pass. — In 
any  book  invented  for  the  purpose  of 
deceiving  the  world,  expressions  of  this 
kind  would  not  have  been  found,  for 
they  are  enough  to  turn  away  the  reader 
from  faith  in  the  God  who  could  permit 
such  heavy  distresses  to  fall  upon  his 


chosen  children. — In  the  Bible,  how- 
ever, the  utmost  frankness  is  used  in 
describing  the  reality  of  life. — Christ 
said.  If  any  man  will  come  after  me, 
let  him  take  up  his  cross.  — Christianity 
means  crucifixion. — Looking  upon  the 
sufferer  in  the  text,  who  would  say, 
Let  me  also  be  as  Job  is  :  let  me  believe 
in  God  ;  let  me  follow  him  in  all  the 
travail  and  sorrow  of  his  life  ;  for  surely 
the  God  who  permits  such  chastisement 
is  merciful  and  tender  in  spirit?  No 
man  could  make  any  such  speech. 
Looked  at,  as  he  sits  in  sorrow  and  in 
dust  and  ashes,  uncrowned,  desolated, 
and  abhorred,  Job  is  rather  calculated 
to  turn  men  away  from  God,  than  to 
allure  them  to  him. — Christians  have 
suffered  more  than  any  other  men  have 
ever  endured. — The  higher  the  life  the 
more  susceptible  is  feeling  :  the  nearer 
we  are  to  God  the  more  wicked  does 
every  sin  appear  to  be. — It  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  when  a  man  lives 
and  moves  and  has  his  being  in  God 
that  he  is  exempt  from  loss,  or  pain,  or 
waat :  but  the  case  is  not  confined 
within  the  limits  of  such  experience; 
the  error  which  we  are  always  tempted 
to  commit  is  the  error  of  supposing  that 
we  see  everything,  and  grasp  the  whole 
case  of  life  in  all  the  variety  of  its 
detail.  We  forget  such  comforting 
words  as  *'  What  thou  knowest  not 
now,  thou  shalt  know  hereafter ;  "  "  Let 
not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let 
it  be  afraid  ;"  "Count  it  all  joy  when 
ye  fall  into  divers  temptations." — that 
is,  trials  or  tests  of  character. — When 
the  eye  is  dim  by  reason  of  sorrow,  the 
eye  of  the  soul  is  often  made  brighter 
and  keener,  that  it  may  look  further 
into  all  the  mystery  of  love. — The  real 
state  of  the  life  does  not  depend  upon 
the  tearless  eye  of  the  body ;  when 
the  eye  of  the  body  is  brightest  the  eye 
of  the  soul  may  be  dimmest.  It  is  in 
the  darkness  that  we  see  the  stars. — 
The  eye  of  the  body  is  meant  to  be 


*'HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE:' 


443 


extinguished,  and  all  our  members  are 
intended  to  be  but  as  a  shadow  ;  no 
uncommon  thing  has  happened  to  us 
when  we  are  in  tears,  or  when  we  are 
beclouded  by  great  apprehensions,  or 
crushed  under  heavy  burdens; — all  that 
belongs  to  the  present  state  of  life  and 
the  present  system  of  nature,  as  we 
now  stand  related  to  them  in  our 
character  as  transgressors. — When  my 
heart  and  my  flesh  do  fail,  then  the 
Lord  will  take  me  up. — It  is  in  our 
extremity  that  God  can  best  show  the 
riches  of  his  grace — 

"  Tis  when  our  human  hopes  die  out 

That  Jesus  best  can  prove 
The  strength,  and  depth,  and  tenderness 

Of  His  unchanging  love." 

Many  men  would  never  have  knovni 
Christ  in  all  his  dignity  and  tenderness, 
but  for  the  sufferings  they  have  under- 
gone ;  they  have  been  made  acquainted 
with  him  in  the  companionship  of 
affliction.  We  see  more  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  Gethsemane  than  in  any  other  place 
in  all  his  history. — One  day  we  may 
have  reason  to  exclaim,  "It  is  good 
for  me  that  I  was  afflicted." — There 
are  not  wanting  children  of  God  who 
would  not  on  any  account  surrender  the 
trials  they  have  undergone,  because  of 
the  rich  issues  of  wisdom  and  grace 
which  they  have  realised  in  their  hearts. 


**  My  familiar  friends  have  forgotten 
me.'' — ^JOB  xix.  14. 

What  does  this  amount  to?  As  a 
social  fact  it  was  simply  ruinous. — A 
man  without  friends  is  without  fellow- 
ship, confidence,  hope. — What  is  a 
house  without  windows  looking  out 
upon  the  lighted  landscape?  What  is 
it  to  have  great  thoughts,  and  yet  to 
have  no  listener,  into  whose  eager  ear 
the  high  music  can  be  poured  ? — ^Job  is 
therefore  not  mourning  something  that 


is  of  no  consequence,  but  is  lamenting 
one  of  the  most  serious  incidents  that 
can  occur  in  social  experience. — Still, 
spiritual  advantages  may  accrue  from 
loss  of  friends. — When  friends  are  gone 
we  begin  to  inquire  what  can  be  left ; 
and  if  in  our  desolation  we  find  that 
God  remains  behind  in  all  faithfulness 
and  love,  we  may  say  with  Christ,  **  I 
am  alone,  yet  not  alone,  for  the  Father 
is  with  me." — What  a  lesson  is  this 
upon  the  whole  subject  of  friendship, 
not  friendship  of  a  common  kind,  but 
friendship  which  involved  former  fami- 
liarity and  almost  oneness  of  thought 
and  sympathy  ! — Let  us  take  care  upon 
what  staff  we  lean. — We  should  remem- 
ber that  the  best  of  men  are  but  men  at 
best. — We  see,  in  this  instance,  how 
friendship  was  dependent  in  a  large 
degree  upon  circumstances. — There  are 
fair-weather  friends,  and  there  are 
friends  whom  no  foul  weather  can  drive 
from  our  side. — There  is  a  Friend  that 
sticketh  closer  than  a  brother. — It  is 
the  peculiar  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  that 
he  has  promised  to  be  with  us  for  ever, 
not  a  casual  friend,  not  a  day-long 
acquaintance,  not  a  mere  passer-by,  but 
to  abide  with  us  and  see  us  through  all 
the  cloud  of  time  and  the  valley  of 
death,  and  bring  us  into  the  sunlight 
of  eternity. — To  be  forgotten,  how  sad 
a  case  is  that !  At  first,  it  would  appear 
to  be  a  simple  impossibility,  yet  wc 
have  known  it  as  a  lamentable  fact  ; 
the  memory  has  cast  out  names  which 
it  once  prized. — Let  us  see  to  it  that 
when  we  are  forgotten,  it  is  not  for 
moral  reasons ;  let  the  ingratitude  be 
on  the  other  side. — There  comes  a  time 
when  it  is  right  to  forget  a  man  who 
has  broken  every  commandment  and 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  every  expostula- 
tion ;  even  Jesus  Christ  appoints  a  time 
when  an  offending  brother  is  to  become 
a  heathen  man  and  a  publican. — As  to 
forgetfulness,  we  ought  to  search  into 
its  quality,  lest  there  be  hidden  within 


444 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


it  anything  of  the  nature  of  unthankful- 
ness. — Never  forget  a  benefactor  or  a 
benefit. — To  think  of  the  sacred  and 
fruitfiil  past  is  to  make  the  present  glow 
with  a  holy  influence. — God  will  not 
forget  those  who  remember  him. — God 
is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your  work 
of  faith  and  labour  of  love. — When  my 
father  and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then 
the  Lord  will  take  me  up. — Our  con- 
scious loneliness  will  be  among  the 
chief  of  our  blessings  if  it  lead  us  to 
consider  whether  the  blessing  of  God 
is  not  available. — Let  our  friendships 
be  rooted  in  intelligent  conviction,  deep 
moral  sympathy,  congeniality  of  spiritual 
tastes,  and  even  the  roughest  wind  will 
leave  them  probably  unbent,  certainly 
unbroken. 


"  Why  persecute  we  hitn^  seeing  the  root 
of  the  matter  is  found  in  me  ?  " — 
Job  xix.  28. 

The  time  will  come  when  every  judg- 
ment will  be  regulated  by  the  radical 
condition  of  men. — At  present,  judg- 
ment is  superficial,  relating  largely  to 
circumstances  and  changing  conditions. 
— We  should  be  concerned  about  the 
real  character  of  a  man,  and  in  the  light 
of  that  character  view  his  eccentricities, 
peculiarities,  and  even  the  failings  that 
seem  to  alienate  our  confidence. — Per- 
fect men  we  need  not  expect  to  find, 
because  we  are  not  perfect  ourselves ; 
but  without  being  perfect,  a  man  may 
be  rooted  in  the  true  life,  and  may  be 
enriched  with  the  true  knowledge. — 
Men  should  be  judged  by  the  larger 
aspects  of  their  character.  There  may 
be  a  thousand  slips,  mistakes,  foibles, 
and  yet  underneath  all  there  may  be  a 
living  reality  of  faith  and  love. — We 
are  not  to  break  the  bruised  reed,  or 
quench  the  smoking  flax,  or  turn  aside 
that  which  is  lame  out  of  the  way ;  we 
are  to  be  pitiful,   considerate,   large- 


minded  towards  all  men. — Once  be 
satisfied  that  the  root  of  the  matter  is  in 
a  man — that  is  to  say,  that  he  means 
well,  that  his  motives  are  simple,  that 
his  purposes  are  upright — then  it  will 
be  easy  to  deal  with  the  inequalities  of 
his  character. — There  are  some  men 
who  never  show  themselves  to  advan- 
tage. Unfortunately  for  them,  they  are 
always  disclosing  the  weaker  side  of 
their  nature,  asserting  their  peculiarities, 
and,  almost  of  set  purpose,  concealing 
their  real  quality. — "  By  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them  "  is  a  rule  which  cannot 
be  amended, — not  by  the  fruits  of  this 
particular  day  or  that,  but  the  fruits  of 
the  whole  lifetime. — No  man  who  has 
the  root  of  the  matter  in  him  can  wholly 
disguise  its  presence  and  effect  in  his 
life.  The  fmit  will  appear  at  un- 
expected times,  and  will  be  most 
abundant  when  there  is  the  largest 
opportunity  of  feeding  hunger  without 
the  observation  of  others. — Surely  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  the  root  of  the 
matter  is  in  every  man, — some  trace  of 
divinity,  some  symbol  of  high  origin, 
some  thought  not  bom  of  earth,  some 
flash  of  light  that  must  have  been  en- 
kindled in  eternity  :  it  is  this  that  in- 
spires philanthropy  with  immortal 
hope,  that  nerves  and  succours  it  amid 
all  the  gathering  discouragements  which 
would  suppress  and  destroy  it. — Every 
man  knows  whether  the  root  of  the 
matter  is  in  him  or  not.  This  has  not 
to  be  revealed  to  him  by  others ;  it  is  a 
fact  which  his  own  conscience  can  posi- 
tively determine. — Let  there  be  no  mis- 
take as  to  the  nature  of  the  root, — it  is 
not  profession,  it  is  not  sentiment,  it  is 
not  official  alliance  with  this  or  that  par- 
ticular section  of  the  Christian  Church, 
it  is  not  veneration  for  things  past,  or 
superstition  for  things  sacerdotal  and 
ecclesiastical ;  it  is  a  life,  it  is  a  con- 
scious enjoyment  of  God,  it  is  a  deep 
and  unalterable  vow  to  serve  the  living 
God,  whatever  others  may  do. 


HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSED 


445 


"  How  can  he  be  clean  that  is  born  of  a 
woman  ?  "—Job  xxv.  4. 

This  is  a  question  supported  by  reason. 
— It  is  a  fact  also  confirmed  by  ex- 
perience.    There  has  been  opportunity 
enough   of  knowing  what  the   human 
race  can  do  for  itself ;  we  need  not  now 
be  making  experiments  as  to  the  quality 
of  human  nature  ;  within  the  scope  of 
thousands  of  years  it    has    had  field 
enough  in  which  to  display  itself,  alike 
to  advantage  and  disadvantage. — The 
question  is  philosophical  and  scientific  : 
how  can  the  effect  be  better  than  the 
cause  ?    How  can  water  rise  above  its 
level  ?     How  can  a  fountain  send  forth 
both  sweet  water  and  bitter?     How 
can  a  vine  bear  fruit  other  than  that  of 
its  own  kind? — The   inquiry  is    thus 
justified  by  all  the  processes  of  nature. 
— Yet  revelation  comes  with  a  sublime 
and  hopeful  reply. — There  is  a  cause 
above  all  the  causes  which  we  know — 
a  great  First  Cause  :  we  are  stopped  in 
our    inquiry   by   ministries,    mediums, 
intermediate  arrangements,    and   what 
are  termed  secondary  causes  and  im- 
pulses :  within  the  circle  of  their  opera- 
tion the  question  must  be  answered,  as 
involving  an  impossibility;  but  here  it 
is  that  grace  triumphs  over  law,  here 
is  the  miracle  of  redemption  and  re- 
generation :  with  men  this  is  impossible, 
with  God  all  things  are  possible :  the 
Holy  Spirit  takes  up  the  work  where 
man  lays  it  down,  and  that  which  is 
resigned  in  feebleness  is  completed  by 
omnipotence. — No  man  can  heal  him- 
self, regenerate  himself,  re-create  him- 
self; a  voice  comes  sounding  down  the 
ages,  *'0  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed 
thyself ;  but  in  me  is  thine  help."    This 
is  the  great  gospel  voice,  declaring  at 
once  the  saddest  fact  and  the    most 
blessed  opportimity. 


**  Will  he  always  call  upon  God?"— 
Job  xxvii.  ID. 

It  would  seem  as  if  the  emphasis 
should  be  laid  upon  the  word  **  always." 
— There  is  mutable  worship  enough. — 
Occasional  prayers  are  known  to  those 
who  are  not  Christians,  even  in  name. 
— Probably,  all  men  in  Christian  coun- 
tries are  conscious  of  occasional  high 
impulses  and  noble  aspirations ;  they 
enter  with  sympathy  and   enthusiasm 
into  religious  psalmody  or  other  forms 
of  religious  worship  :  but  they  do  so  in 
a   merely   sentimental    manner;    they 
express  an  impulse,  not  a  conviction; 
they  enjoy  a  luxury,  rather  than  reveal 
a  hunger  of  the  heart  which  God  alone 
can  satisfy. — Our    worship    is    to    be 
proved  by  its  continuity. — We  are  not 
to  serve  God,  so  to  say,  in  fits  and 
starts,  now  very  ardent,  and  now  very 
cold ;  now  engaging  ourselves  with  all 
industry    as    if    everything    depended 
upon  us,  and  now  allowing  the  work 
to  fall  into  desu-tude  and  contempt. — 
Will  he  always    call  upon    God, — in 
health,     in    sickness,    in     wealth,    in 
poverty,  in  the  bright  summer  day,  in 
the  cold  winter    night,   on    the  land 
where  all  things  seem  to  be  solid,  on 
the  water  where  everything  is  restless 
and  in  peril? — Will  he  always  serve 
God, — in  the  ardour  of  youth,  in  the 
sobriety  of  manhood,  in  the  repose  of 
old  age  ?    We  must  not  boast  ourselves 
of  our  religion  until  it  has  been  tried 
in  every  possible  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances,  for  the  one  in   which  it 
has  not  been  tried  may  prove  that  we 
never  knew  the  inmost  secret  of  God  : 
"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be 
saved." — We    are    to    watch    and    be 
sober,  to  persevere  unto  the  end,  to 
drive  away  slumber  from  the  eyelids, 
lest  whilst  we  sleep  the  Bridegroom 
should  come. — There  is  little  or  no  fear 
of  our  forgetting  prayer  in  the  day  of 
trouble,  of  loneliness,  or  of  bitter  grief: 


446 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


sorrow  always  makes  us  mindful  of  our 
religious  obligations  and  opportunities, 
— the  fear  is  that  we  may  wax  fat  and 
kick,  that  in  our  prosperity  we  may 
forget  God,  that  at  high  noon  we  may 
imagine  we  ourselves  kindled  the  sun  : 
"  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth 
lake  heed  lest  he  fall." — To  see  a  man 
praying  when  he  seems  to  have  no 
need  of  prayer  is  to  see  what  ap- 
proaches almost  the  dignity  of  a 
miracle. — It  may  be  easy  to  cry  unto 
God  when  we  have  lack  of  food,  but  to 
invoke  his  benediction  upon  a  plentiful 
table,  and  to  do  it  with  a  humble  heart, 
may  be  a  test  of  the  reality  of  our 
religion. — Sweet  is  the  word,  Always 
pray — always, — every  day  of  the  week, 
every  hour  of  the  wakeful  night  ;  not 
praying  as  a  duty,  or  accepting  it  as  a 
discipline,  but  enjoying  it  as  a  supreme 
delight,  and  valuing  it  as  the  widest 
and  noblest  liberty.  "  Pray  without 
ceasing." 


"  /  was  eyes  to  the  blind." — ^JOB  xxix. 
IS. 

This  may  lead  us  to  consider  the 
subject  of  self- multiplication. — No  man 
liveth  unto  himself. — We  hold  all  our 
faculties  and  properties,  not  for  our- 
selves alone  but  for  others  also  ;  in  this 
respect  we  have  all  things  in  common. 
—  No  man  is  at  liberty  to  say,  when 
there  is  a  blind  man  to  be  helped,  that 
his  eyes  are  wholly  his  own,  and  that 
he  must  devote  them  to  his  own  occu- 
pations and  interests. — In  this  way  it 
lies  within  the  power  of  every  man  to 
do  good  :  without  money,  without 
genius,  without  influence,  he  can  yet 
conduct  a  blind  child  across  a  thorough- 
fare, or  speak  a  kind  word  to  the 
dispirited  traveller,  or  offer  to  do  some 
deed  of  love  to  the  friendless  man. — 
Beneficence  does  not  confine  itself  to 
one  line.  Unhappily,  in  many  in- 
stances, it  is  so  confined,  and  thus  it  is 


in  danger  of  falling  into  a  mere  trick  or 
habit.  Some  men  will  give  money 
largely  who  will  not  give  any  time  to 
the  promotion  of  good  causes  ;  others 
do  not  grudge  their  time,  but  it  is  next 
to  impossit)le  to  persuade  tiiem  to  con- 
tribute of  their  sulisrance. — Each  man 
will  be  judged  accorJing  to  his  faculty 
and  opportunity.— All  that  some  men 
can  do  is  to  lead  the  blind,  cheer  the 
lonely,  advise  the  perplexed ;  these 
services  to  humanity  are  never  set  down 
in  the  subscnption-li;5ts  of  society  ;  it 
would  seem  as  if  it  was  only  money 
that  could  be  recorded,  and  not  seivice 
of  a  still  richer  kind.  Many  are  sitting 
in  darkness  and  desolation  who  do  not 
need  money;  they  need  sympathy, 
counsel,  encouragement. — Let  every 
man  consider  what  his  particular  power 
of  serving  society  is.  We  must  not 
judge  ourselves  by  one  another,  but 
must  inquire  into  the  gift  which  gives 
us  individuality  ;  that  is  the  gift  which 
is  to  be  stirred  up ;  that  is  the  gift 
which  indicates  the  line  of  our  service. 
— Some  men  have  ten  gifts,  others  two, 
others  one,  and  each  man  must  ex- 
amine himself  and  work  according  to 
his  particular  endowment. — Blessed  are 
they  who  live  in  others. — The  blind 
who  are  helped  ought  not  to  forget 
the  man  who  helped  them.  They 
should  remember  the  touch  of  his  kind 
hand,  the  cheerfulness  of  his  generous 
voice,  and  by  their  thanks  they  should 
inspire  him  to  continue  his  benevolent 
services  to  all  who  need  them.— The 
man  who  has  the  word  of  wisdom  has 
the  key  of  many  a  prison. — Even  ser- 
vices of  the  humblest  kind  should  be 
rendered  with  tender  grace,  for  thus 
their  value  may  be  doubled. — Many 
persons  never  see  the  blind  because 
they  never  look  for  them.— There  is 
other  blindness  than  that  of  the  eyes 
of  the  body — blindness  of  mind,  of 
conscience,  and  even  of  affection. — 
What  if  a  man  should  see  well  with  his 


HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE:' 


447 


bodily  eyes,  but  should  blind  the  vision 
of  his  soul?  What  if  the  eyes  of 
imagination  should  wander  through 
eternity,  feasting  themselves  upon  the 
riches  of  the  universe,  if  the  eyes  of 
conscience  and  responsibility  and  social 
trust  should  be  put  out,  so  that  those 
who  are  round  about  us  needing  our 
help  should  escape  our  observation. — 
Many  persons  are  quick  to  see  the 
faults  of  others,  but  blind  to  their  own. 
— Let  us  remember  that  sympathy, 
counsel,  encouragement,  prayer,  re- 
ligious exhortation,  may  all  come  under 
the  designation  of  that  large  and 
generous  service  which  gives  eyes  to 
the  blind. 


"  Did  not  I  weep  for  him  that  was  in 
trouble  ?  was  not  my  soul  grieved 
for  the  poor?  When  I  looked  for 
good,  then  evil  came  unto  me  :  and 
when  1  waited  for  lights  there  came 
darkness^' — ^JOB  xxx.  25,26. 

Job  did  not  always  see  the  con- 
nection between  cause  and  effect. — 
It  is  idle  to  deny  that  there  are  sur- 
prises in  the  working  of  this  law  in 
daily  providence. — Events  do  not  occur 
as  we  should  have  predicted. — It  would 
even  seem  as  if  wheat  brought  forth 
tares,  and  thistles  grew  upon  the  vine. 
— The  facts  of  life  are  very  hard  ;  they 
are  moral  mysteries,  even  such  as 
trouble  the  conscience. — The  assurance 
is  that  if  we  care  for  the  poor  the  Lord 
will  care  for  us;  yet  here  is  a  man 
whose  soul  was  grieved  for  the  poor, 
and  he  himself  was  thrust  down  into 
the  greatest  distress. — The  question 
arises  whether  we  see  the  whole  of 
the  case,  or  whether  at  best  we  see 
but  transient  phases  of  things  that  are 
real  and  permanent. — It  would  seem 
as  if  every  day  we  needed  the  comfort 
which  arises  from  the  exercise  of 
patience  in  this  matter  of  time. — The 
patriarch,    having  wept  for  him  that 


was  in  trouble,  expected  that  good 
would  come,  and  whilst  he  stood  at  his 
door  looking  for  the  radiant  angel  to 
advance,  behold,  evil  came  upon  him  ! 
a  great  dense  cloud  gathered  over  his 
head  and  discharged  its  floods  upon 
his  house. — Job  was  conscious  of  having 
done  right,  of  having  been  kind,  of 
having  spared  nothing  of  all  his  wealth 
from  the  cry  of  the  poor  and  the  needy  : 
then  said  he  to  himself,  "Light  will 
surely  come,"  and  when  he  looked  for 
the  light  the  whole  heaven  blackened 
into  a  frown. — We  must  look  at  facts 
in  all  their  reality  and  seriousness. — 
Within  points  that  can  be  easily  fixed, 
the  argument  of  facts  would  often  seem 
to  be  dead  against  the  doctrine  of  a 
benign  and  watchful  providence. — We 
have  to  wait  for  the  latter  end. — It  is 
often  a  long  time  to  wait,  and  many 
hearts  break  down  in  the  weary  process* 
Surely  God  will  not  be  harsh  with 
such  hearts,  for  his  trials  are  very 
many  and  very  great. — We  may  learn 
a  good  deal  from  our  inability  as  well 
as  our  ability  in  the  matter  of  bearing 
trial. — It  is  right  that  our  pride  should 
be  humbled  and  crushed,  and  that  we 
should  know  ourselves  to  be  but  men. 
When  the  unbeliever  taxes  us  with 
having  done  good,  and  yet  with  having 
received  evil  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord, 
our  reply  should  be  a  frank  avowal 
of  the  fact,  and  our  argument  should 
be  that  as  yet  we  know  only  in  part. 
— There  is  a  time  in  the  process  of 
germination  when  everything  seems  to 
be  against  the  seed  which  has  been 
sown  ;  there  is  a  point  at  which  it  is 
true,  Thou  fool !  that  which  thou 
so  west  is  not  quickened,  except  it  die. 
— How  absurd  the  suggestion  that  we 
too  must  die  in  order  to  live,  we  must 
become  weak  that  we  may  be  strong, 
we  must  empty  ourselves  that  we  may 
be  filled  of  God.— No  doubt,  the  atheist 
has  occasions  on  which  the  argument 
seems  to  be  wholly  on  his  side. — Be- 


448 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE, 


yond  all  question,  he  can  point  to  men 
of  prayer  who  are  doomed  to  poverty, 
men  of  faith  who  are  slaves  to  circum- 
stances, over-burdened  and  over-driven 
every  day,  their  best  toil  coming  back 
upon  them  like  a  mockery  and  a 
penalty. — So  again  and  again  we  have 
to  fall  back  upon  the  exhortation  which 
bids  us  rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait 
patiently  for  him  ;  he  knows  exactly 
how  much  purification  we  need,  how 
much  disappointment  is  best  for  us, 
how  many  days  we  have  to  be  in  the 
prison  of  fear,  in  order  to  prepare  us 
for  the  joy  of  liberty. — Not  my  will, 
but  thine,  be  done  :  I  long  to  see 
another  process  in  providence,  one 
which  will  bear  more  directly  upon 
the  belief  of  unwilling  minds,  and  the 
surrender  of  reluctant  wills  ;  I  long 
for  thee,  O  God,  to  triumph,  and  to 
make  manifest  thy  kingdom  ;  but  thou 
art  wise  and  I  am  foolish ;  I  came  up 
from  the  emptiness  and  ignorance  of 
yesterday,  and  will  not  dictate  to  the 
eternal  God :  O  teach  me  from  my 
heart  to  say,  "  Thy  will,  my  God,  be 
done !  • 


"  •  .  .  a»   interpreter^   one  among  a 
thousand.^'' — ^Job  xxxiiL  23. 

Why  should  not  all  men  be  inter- 
preters ?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  are 
not,  and  we  are  called  upon  to  consider 
the  moral  import  of  that  fact. — Men 
are  variously  gifted. — To  be  gifted  at 
all  is  to  receive  honour  from  God. — The 
judgment  is  not  as  between  one  man 
and  another,  but  as  between  each  man, 
as  a  trustee,  and  God  who  has  put  him 
in  trust. — The  interpreter  will  always 
make  his  influence  felt ;  there  will  be 
something  about  his  manner,  mode  of 
thinking,  tone  of  expression,  which  will 
identify  him  as  one  on  whom  the 
tongue  of  flame  is  resting. — Society 
should  honour  its  interpreters. — To  be 


one  among  a  thousand  b  to  be  in 
a  painful  position. — We  envy  the 
eminence,  but  forget  the  responsibility  ; 
we  say  how  grand  it  must  be  to  be  so 
high  up  in  society,  forgetting  that  eleva- 
tion means  penalty,  labour  of  many 
kinds,  and  vexations  such  as  the  great 
alone  can  feel.  —The  Bible  is  an  inter- 
preter, and  one  among  a  thousand. — 
This  is  the  distinctive  peculiarity  of  the 
Bible. — It  is  not  only  a  revelation,  it  is 
an  interpretation ;  it  interprets  God, 
nature,  truth,  and  it  interprets  man  to 
himself. — It  is  one  among  a  thousand 
because  there  are  many  books  which 
profess  to  have  great  answers  to  great 
questions,  but  they  all  break  down  at  a 
given  point,  and  are  least  eloquent 
where  the  heart  yearns  most  for 
spiritual  communication. — Let  us  always 
dwell  upon  the  distinctiveness  of  the 
Bible,  and  of  the  cross,  and  of  the 
whole  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ. — ^In 
many  points  it  may  be  like  other  sacred 
messages,  but  there  are  points  at  which 
it  breaks  away  from  them  all,  and  stands 
up  in  noble  singularity. — We  must  not 
force  interpretation  too  far. — Some- 
times it  is  enough  to  have  a  hint  with- 
out having  a  whole  revelation. — If  we 
walk  according  to  the  light  we  have, 
the  light  will  soon  increase. — He  is 
deceiving  himself  who  supposes  that  he 
would  travel  fast  toward  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  if  he  could  start  his  journey 
at  mid-day. — Begin  your  journey  as 
soon  as  there  is  the  faintest  streak  of 
light  in  the  east,  and  as  you  walk  the 
sun  will  increase  in  splendour. — The 
Christian  should  be  one  in  a  thousand  : 
he  should  be  seen  from  afar  :  he  should 
be  known  by  the  quality  of  his  char- 
acter, by  the  music  of  his  voice  :  he 
should  in  no  case  be  so  living  the  vulgar 
life  as  to  be  confounded  with  the  com- 
mon herd — at  the  same  time,  he  must 
distinguish  between  self-display,  and 
the  uniqueness  which  comes  of  long  and  * 
happy  communion  with  his  Master. — 


'*HANDFULS  OF  PURPOSE," 


449 


To  be  ostentatious  is  to  be  impious; 
to  be  a  city  set  on  a  hill  is  to  be  a 
witness  for  God. 


**Let  us  know  among  ourselves  what  is 
goody — Job.  xxxiv.  4. 

The  Church  should  be  united  in  its 
testimony.  Before  going  forth  to  the 
world  the  Church  should  agree  upon 
what  is  eternal  and  what  is  temporal ; 
in  other  words,  between  what  is  funda- 
mental and  what  is  changeable. — The 
Church  suffers  for  want  of  self-consulta- 
tion ;  each  man  seems  to  run  at  his  own 
bidding,  and  to  go  a  warfare  at  his  own 
charges. — This  is  the  exaggeration  of 
individualism. — Man  belongs  to  man, 
and  should  consult  man,  especially 
when  the  purpose  is  to  represent  a 
common  message  from  heaven. — It  is 
perfectly  possible  to  be  substantially 
one,  and  yet  individually  varied,  so  that 
there  shall  be  a  great  element  of  per- 
manence, and  also  a  fascinating  element 
of  variety  in  the  testimony  and  teaching 
of  the  Church.— They  that  love  the 
Lord  should  speak  often  one  to  another, 
and  their  object  should  be  to  say,  with 
a  loud  and  unanimous  voice,  that  in 
which  they  are  ageeed  with  regard  to 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. — How  is  it  to- 
day ?  do  we  not  hear  more  about  con- 
troversies than  about  points  of  union  ? 
is  not  he  the  clever  man  who  can  create 
a  new  contention  ?  and  is  not  he  con- 
sidered as  commonplace  and  wanting 
in  originality  who  calls  the  Church  to 
obedience,  to  duty,  and  to  sacrifice? — 
Conference  amongst  Christians  is  a  sure 
way  to  union. — When  they  cannot  agree 
in  speech  to  one  another,  they  can  agree 
in  speech  to  God. — By  praying  much 
to  God  they  may  learn  the  art  of  speak- 
ing concedingly  and  fraternally  to  one 
another. — The  action  towards  union 
which  is  to  end  aright  must  begin  at 
the  divine  end  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  must 
begin   by  increasing    our    communion 

VOL.    XI. 


with  God  and  our  love  to  God,  and 
when  we  are  right  with  the  Father  we 
shall  soon  be  right  with  one  another. — 
If  thou  hast  aught  against  thy  brother, 
go  and  speak  to  him. — Instead  of  repre- 
senting in  our  own  language  what  other 
men  are  supposed  to  think,  we  should 
go  to  those  men  and  ask  them  what 
their  real  meaning  is,  and  should 
endeavour  to  find  their  standpoint,  and 
to  enter  sympathetically  into  their 
whole  mental  action. — There  might  be 
more  outward  union  if  there  were  really 
a  deeper  desire  in  the  hearts  of  men  to 
be  one  in  Christ  and  in  love  of  truth. 


"  Is  it  fit  to  say  to  a  king,  TTiou  art 
wicked  ?  and  to  princes^  Ye  are  un- 
godly ?  "—Job  xxxiv.  18. 

This  makes  a  large  assumption  with 
regard  to  royal  character. — This  enables 
us  to  understand  the  exhortations  of 
the  Bible  with  regard  to  kings,  princes, 
and  rulers. — The  assumption  of  the 
Bible  is  that  they  are  good  men,  ani- 
mated by  a  spirit  of  righteousness,  and 
intent  upon  serving  the  interests  of  truth. 
— The  Bible  never  assumes  the  king  to 
to  be  a  bad  man,  or  a  prince  to  be 
ungodly. — This  is  the  secret  of  all  its 
exhortations  to  loyalty  and  obedience. 
— The  king  is  to  represent  the  whole 
state ;  the  prince  is  to  typify  the 
righteousness  of  the  universe. — We  are 
not  to  look  at  kings  and  princes  in 
their  mere  individuality,  for  then  they 
may  not  be  equal  to  many  over  whom 
they  reign,  in  intellectual  capacity  or  in 
moral  nobleness ;  king  and  prince  are 
typical  or  symbolical"  terms,  and  they 
have  reference  to  character,  and  to 
office,  and  to  divine  designs. — If  a 
king  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  wicked, 
what  about  a  Christian? — If  the  thought 
of  princes  being  ungodly  is  abhorrent, 
what  must  be  the  thought  of  praying 
men  being  unfaithful  to  their  own 
prayers,  living  a  contradiction  to  their 
29 


450 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE. 


own  most  pious  desires? — The  more 
we  expect  from  men  the  more  we  ought 
to  realise  from  them,  in  the  way  of 
character  and  honour  and  utility. — 
Kings  must  be  made  to  feel  that  their 
people  expect  great  things  from  them 
— things  worthy  of  kingship,  actions 
worthy  of  royal  designation ;  in  this 
sense  the  people  may  make  the  king, 
the  ruled  may  make  the  ruler. — Let 
the  kings  of  the  earth  feel  that  their 
people  are  increasing  in  education,  in 
moral  elevation,  and  in  enlargement 
of  view,  and  it  will  be  impossible  for 
the  officially  great  to  linger  behind  the 
untitled  nobility. — After  all  democracy 
has  everything  in  its  own  hands ;  not 


immediately,  but  remotely,  and  it  may 
attain  all  its  purposes  by  painstaking 
effort  in  matters  of  education,  self-culture, 
and  self-discipline. — The  lowly  will  soon 
give  the  mighty  to  under^tand  what  is 
expected  of  them,  by  showing  in  them- 
selves capacity  for  government  and  will- 
ingness to  obey  where  laws  are  right 
and  beneficent. — Nothing  is  gained  by 
effrontery,  impertinence,  defiance. — I 
is  easy  to  defy  a  king  nothing  comest 
of  such  rebellion  ;  the  true  defiance 
is  to  be  found  in  growing  goodness, 
growing  wisdom,  growing  simplicity 
of  character. — That  is  not  the  defiance 
of  audacity,  but  the  holy  defiance  of 
virtue. 


V 


Of    'A'a-J- 


-^ 


INDEX. 


Abstract    doctrine,     uselessness     of 

preaching,  33c. 
Adam,  the  temptation  of,  8;  never  a 

boy,  19. 
Affliction,  God's  uses  of,  364. 
After  the  storm,  398. 
Agnosticism,  Christian,  269. 
Agnostics,  perplexities  of,  174. 
Angels,  ministry  of,  21. 
Annotated  chapters :  xxxi,  300 ;  xxxviii, 

366;  xxxix,  368:  xl,  370;  xli,  371. 
Appearance,    the    divine,    366.       See 

Theq^hany. 
Aristotle,  maxim  of,  61. 
Arithmeticians,  poverty  of  their  figures, 

95. 
Assaults   of   Satan,   15,      See  Devil; 
Satan. 

Backsliders,  a  call  to,  254. 

Bereaved  families,  how  to  be  approach- 
ed, 58. 

Bible,  an  ever-enlarging  book,  217, 

Bildad,  first  speech  of,  56 ;  wanting  in 
sympathy,  57;  his  wisdom,  59;  his 
philosophy,  61 ;  Job's  answer  to,  65  ; 
his  family  and  nation,  87 ;  the  second 
speech  of,  172;  Job's  reply  to,  180. 
See  Job. 

Book  of  Job,  author  of  the,  188;  its 
place  in  the  Bible,  196;  poetry  of, 
281 ;  epitaphs  in,  298. 

Cant,  the  pride  of,  81. 
Character,  how  watched  and  read,  18; 
value  of,  337. 


Charleston,   alarmed    by    earthquake, 

386. 
Chastening,  purpose  of,  240. 
Cheyne,  Rev.  Canon,  on  the  Book  of 

Job,  290 ;  on  the  speeches  of  Elihu, 

349. 
Children,  tombstones  of  little,  23. 
Christ,   the  teaching   of,    113;   in  the 

Book  of  Job,  335.   See  Jesus  Christ. 
Christian  men,  shortcomings  of,  212. 
Christianity,  what  is,  349. 
Church,  mission  of  the,  182;  what  she 

ought  to  be,  288  ;  advantages  in  the, 

395- 
Cleansing,  man's  need  of,  70;  means 

of,  ib. 
Clouds  with  silver  linings,  357* 
Comforters  and  flatterers,  163. 
Comforters,  Job's,  God's  reply  to,  391. 
Contrasts,  man  educated  by,  141. 
Controversy,  unprofitableness  of,  397. 
Creaturedom,  the  position  of,  403. 
Criticism,  the  fault  of  the  world,  107. 
Cursed  cities.  Oriental  horror  of,  153, 
Cursing  the  day,  meaning  of,  29. 


Daughters  of  Job,  the,  413. 

Dead,  love  for  the,  192. 

Death,  certainty  of,  47;  how  to  be 
met,  ib. 

Demosthenes,  interrogations  of,  51. 

Destiny,  eternal,  question  of,  322. 

Devil,  restlessness  of  the,  9;  his  esti- 
mate of  good  men,  ii;  his  pro- 
gramme, 20 ;  existence  of  the,  141 


452 


INDEX. 


wages  of  the,  154;  restraint  of  the, 
159;  the  mystery  of  his  power,  164. 
See  Satan. 
Devilishness,  evidence  of  the  devil,  15, 

25. 
Diseases  of  Job,  64. 
Doctrine,  dangerous,   to    preach,   20; 

the  world's  contempt  for,  98. 
Dream,  a  waking,  i. 

Earthquakes,  terror  of,  386. 

Eden,  the  tragedy  in,  8. 

Education,  need  of  encouragement  in, 
32. 

Elihu,  the  speech  of,  319 ;  his  wrath- 
fulness,  320 ;  his  ancestry,  328 ;  his 
modesty,  329 ;  his  beautiful  sayings, 
350.     See  Job. 

Eliphaz,  the  argument  of,  30 ;  re- 
proaches Job,  33;  his  sublime  lan- 
guage, 35 ;  some  of  his  diamond 
words,  40 ;  his  tenderness,  45 ;  Job's 
answer  to,  48 ;  his  pedigree,  89 ;  the 
second  speech  of,  147;  his  last 
speech,  216.     See  Job. 

Ended  words,  310. 

Evolution,  the  doctrine  of,  377. 

Extortion,  condemned  by  the  law  of 
Moses,  224. 

Faith,    the   great    work    of,  209;    a 

noble,  348. 
Family  Bible,  thumb  marks  in,  55. 
Father,  meaning  of,  257. 

God,  how  to  be  judged,  44;  a  refuge 
in  times  of  grief,  60 ;  the  great  mys- 
tery, 115;  no  unrighteousness  in, 
120;  the  Bible  conception  of,  14$; 
man's  desire  after,  244;  how  to  be 
sought,  249 ;  the  only  critic,  295 ; 
his  omnipotence,  297 ;  entreaties  of, 
323 ;  sovereignty  of,  ib. ;  his  creative 
power,  341 ;  righteousness  of,  344, 
346 ;  his  interest  in  man,  353 ; 
power  of,  355 ;  condescension  of, 
ib.\  his  fatherhood,  362,  389;  his 
of  affliction,  364;  his  interroga- 


tions, 374;  in  the  Bible,  375;  in 
human  controversies,  ib)  revealed 
in  Jesus  Christ,  390;  a  wonderful 
revelation  of,  401 ;  rebukes  the  wise, 
407. 

Gospel,  the  need  of  the,  171 ;  message 
of  the,  231. 

Grace,  miracles  of,  23, 

"  Handfuls  of  Purpose,"  417, 
Hearts,  broken,  the  Bible  message  to, 

345- 
History,  how  to  be  interpreted,  74. 
Home,  value  of,  287. 
Human  responsibility,  doctrine  of,  332. 

Immortality,  doctrine  of,  in  the  Old 
Testament,  78 ;  proclaimed  by  Jesus 
Christ,  415. 

Jesus  Christ,  temptation  of,  13;  the 
one  mediator,  71 ;  parables  of,  173  ; 
the  works  of,  21 1 ;  his  mission,  352 ; 
sympathies  of,  317;  revealing  the 
Father,  390.     See  Christ. 

Job,  "  a  perfect  man,"  6 ;  his  afl(^uence, 
7;  his  destitution^  14;  public  trial 
of,  18 ;  his  eloquent  tirade,  27 ;  his 
answer  to  Eliphaz,  48 ;  lamentations 
of,  ib.)  diseases  of,  64;  his  answer 
to  Bildad,  65  ;  his  noble  view  of  God, 
67 ;  addressed  by  Zophar,  100 ;  reply 
to  his  three  friends,  106;  a  great 
natural  theologian.  III;  his  hope- 
fulness, 129;  his  conception  of  pro- 
vidence, 135;  accused  by  Eliphaz, 
150,  221;  the  soul-trouble  of,  163; 
surrounded  by  flatterers,  168;  his 
reply  to  Bildad,  180;  his  knowledge 
of  immortality,  186;  his  review  of 
the  controversy,  235 ;  the  eloquence 
of,  265,  318;  his  religious  loss,  283; 
his  gift  of  rhetoric,  295 ;  lessons 
from  his  experience,  299 ;  his  retro- 
spect and  protest,  302 ;  at  his  intel- 
lectual best,  303 ;  his  mechanical 
life,  ib.',  his  earnest  speech,  304; 
calls  God  his  "adversary,"  308;  the 


INDEX, 


453 


failures  of  his  friends,  333;  God's 
answer  to,  391 ;  his  pride  rebuked, 
395;  abhors  himself,  404;  exaltation 
and  death  of,  407;  prays  for  his 
friends,  410;  the  daughters  of,  413. 

King  Lear,  the  question  of,  4. 
Known  and  the  unknown,  the,  358. 

Language,  Max  Miiller  on,  258. 
Lear,  King,  the  question  of,  4. 
Leathes,  Rev.    Professor   Stanley,  on 

the  poetry  of  the  Book  of  Job,  281. 
Life,  mystery  o^  118,  194;  providence 

in,  133- 
Loans,  law  of  Moses  as  to,  224. 

Man,  weakness  0%  42 ;  immortality  o^ 

138. 
Memory,  ministry  of,  236. 
Miserable  comforters,  156. 
Miseries,  unexplained  in  life,  313. 
Modem  comforters,  uselessness  of,  314. 
Moral  antiquity,  255. 

Naamathite,  meaning  of,  83,  96. 
Nature,  principle  of  meditation  in,  135; 

mysteries  in,  388;  how  to  be  used, 

393 ;  rebukes  in,  396. 
Night,  songs  in  the,  354. 

Old  Testament,  the  poetry  of,  281. 

Olive-tree,  fruit  of,  154,  155. 

Ophir,  the  gold  of,  232;  situation  o^ 

234- 
Opinions,  Christ's  judgment  of,  199. 

Parents,  foolishness  of,  49. 
Perseverance  of  the  saints,  doctrine  o^ 

19;  meaning  of,  219. 
Personal  preaching,  what  is,  222. 
Philological  lesson,  a,  258. 
Possibilities,  some  impossible,  157. 
Practical  preaching,  what  is,  223. 
Prayer,   doctrine    of,    296,    325;    the, 

always  answered,  297. 
Prayers,  5,  39,  97,  406. 
Preacher,  who  is  the  great,  99. 


Preachers,  responsibility  of,  193. 
Profitableness  of  religion,  the,  205. 
Prosperity,  the  impious  boast  of,  iia 

Question  asking,  reverent,  165. 
Questions,  a  cataract  of,  398. 
Quiet  resting-places,  263. 

Reconciliation  and  results,  225. 
Redeemer,  Job's  confidence  in  the,  187. 
Religion,    irreligious,    121 ;    silence   a 

part  of  true,  ib.)  profitableness  of, 

205. 
Religious  man,  definition  of  a,  274. 
Resurrection  taught  in  nature,  130. 
Riches,  when  a  blessing,  261. 

Satan  at  work,  6;  the  assaults  of,  15. 

See  Devil. 
Second  speech  of  Eliphaz,  the,  147. 
Self,  monotony  of,  166. 
Sick  chamber.  Job  welcome  in  the,  3. 
Silence,  eloquence  of,  312. 
Sin,  ancestry  of,  94;  madness  o^  178. 
Snares,  how  laid,  179. 
Songs  in  the  night,  354. 
Sorrow,  how  turned  into  joy,  55 ;  the 

eloquence  of,  270. 
Speeches,  some  wicked,  1 19. 
SuflFerers,  lessons  from,  185. 
Sufiering,  a  seal  of  divine  sonship,  28. 
Sunny  memories,  282. 

Temptation,  the  lot  of  all  men,  12. 

Theology  not  a  profession,  109. 

Theophany,  the,  366,  374;  its  poetry, 
374 ;  how  to  be  judged,  376 ;  author 
of,  378;  interrogations  of  the,  379, 
383,  385;  necessity  of  the,  381. 

Transgressors,  the  hard  way  of)  160. 

Traps,  Scriptural  allusions  to,  179. 

Trial  of  Job,  the,  22.    See  Job. 

Vital  talk,  100. 
Vows,  broken,  249, 

Want,  mystery  of,  257. 
Weeping,  joy  following,  355, 


454 


INDEX. 


Wemyss,  his  characterisation  of  Zo- 
phar,  96. 

What  is  wisdom,  272. 

Wicked  men,  straits  of,  202;  fate  of, 
203, 

Wickedness,  portrait  of,  176;  an 
ancient  conception  of,  188;  draw- 
backs of,  190;  doom  of,  191 ;  bad 
character  of,  193 ;  the  last  act  of, 
207 ;  a  wonderful  portrayal  of,  255 ; 
no  originality  in,  258. 

Wisdom,  how  acquired,  92 ;  value  of, 
277 ;  how  found,  280. 


Words,  some  great,   358;   should  not 

be  dwarfed,  360. 
Wrath,  the  proper  function  of,  320. 

Young  men,  appeal  to,  214. 

ZOPHAR,  the  first  speech  of,  81 ;  his 
characteristics,  ib.',  the  youngest  of 
the  comforters,  82;  his  conception 
of  God,  95;  his  unfeelingness,  96; 
the  noble  appeal  of,  99 ;  a  practical 
preacher,  loi ;  his  closing  speech, 
188 ;  his  frankness,  194.     See  Job. 


END  OF  VOLUME  XI, 


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